AN END to the misery suffered by Kents Banks residents at the hands of huge gangs of cockle pickers using the tiny residential village to access beds could be in sight, says English Nature, reports Luke Dicicco.

In a letter sent to Grange Town Council, English Nature said it was "confident that an acceptable and sustainable solution can be reached" over the coming weeks.

The council had written to English Nature, Holker Estate and the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee requesting what action would be taken to end the problems at Kents Bank.

The letter, received at Monday's meeting, said the three parties together with South Lakeland District Council had met to explore a solution and that further discussions on several points were needed before exact proposals were made public.

Town councillor Bill Wearing said he believed access points in the Flookburgh area would be made available to gangs and that problems at Kents Bank could be eased in a matter of weeks.

The Gazette has reported how gangs of several hundred cocklers have been descending on the village in the past few months following Holker Estate's decision to introduce a paid-for permit scheme along traditional access points to the sand from its land.

The move prompted fury from Kents Bank residents who said cocklers were bringing road gridlock to the village, together with litter and anti-social behaviour.

Fears have also been expressed over cocklers' use of the unmanned rail crossing at Kents Bank Station.

In December, a cockler failed to get permission when crossing the tracks which are used by trains carrying radioactive material to and from Sellafield nuclear reactor when a train was just two miles away.

The move for a possible solution was strongly welcomed by the town council, although it was again stressed that cocklers were free to access beds on public roads unless an Act of Parliament banning them from doing so was passed.