ANYONE wanting to stretch to their legs on Warcop firing range now has a new way finding out when it is safe to do so.

Information about when it is safe to walk on Warcop firing range is now available on a public website thanks to efforts by the Cumbria Local Access Forum, Cumbria County Council and the Ministry of Defence.

Recent talks between the parties have led to an arrangement to make information more easily accessible by putting it on a special Ministry of Defence website and posting news on the county council's website (www.cumbria.gov.uk).

Warcop Training Area was established in 1942 to train troops for the D-Day landings in France. At 9,500 hectares, it is one of the army's largest multi firing facilities and is used to train the majority of the field army including the Territorial Army. It is also used by a wide variety of army cadet forces for low-level training. An average of 130,000 soldiers will pass through Warcop in a year.

The ranges at Warcop are in use, on average, six-and-a-half days a week, 51 weeks of the year. Warcop is crossed by 11 footpaths and four bridleways and the public can get access to rights of way in the danger area when firing exercises are not taking place.

There are already access days and guided walks when the range is not in use, but some user-groups have commented that information about when the range can be safely used by civilians has been hard to come by.

Up to date information is now available at www.access.mod.uk and click on other access opportunities'. Information will also and will start appearing on the Cumbria County Council website.

Clare Hetherington, from Defence Estates, is the land agent at Warcop. She said: "Information is already available in the local press, on notice boards in local villages, and from the access information hotline (0800-783-5181). A recently-published public information leaflet, now available in the local tourist information centres, also details this information along with various permissive routes on Warcop. The new webpage, however, will be of particular use for walkers and riders coming from further afield."