THE recent flooding has taken its toll on one of the Cotswold’s most popular walking routes.

At last week’s meeting of Kemble and Ewen Parish Council, resident Anthony Millard said the Thames Path right of way route, which runs along his house at Brookside Cottage, had become “impassable”.

He told the council that the path had already been in a poor state, but the recent flooding had turned it into a “potential death trap”.

“This has been a challenging and distressing year for many who have been affected by the extreme weather conditions,” he said.

“What was a lovely grassy walk now resembles the western front.”

He added an action group to deal with the problem had recently been set up with a number of local residents, and meetings had been held with figures including Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and representatives from groups including the Environment Agency.

“One of the biggest pleasures we’ve had in nine years of living here is talking to people walking along it,” he said.

“At the moment it’s absolutely ruined and one of the reasons is people kept using it even after it was impassable.”

Parish Council chairman Cllr Roger Pettit said the council would contact Gloucestershire County Council to ask if a temporary path closure could be put in place so work could be carried out to improve the route.