RESIDENTS who hit out at the appearance and location of a handrail on a footpath in a village west of York were today delighted to learn it is set to be moved - and maybe even redesigned.

Councillor Ian Gillies, leader of the York Conservative Group, branded the rail on the path in Nether Poppleton an "old piece of leftover scaffolding", saying it should have been put at the edge of the route.

Coun Gillies, who represents Rural West York, said that the rail - which runs about 12 feet along the path between Main Street and Poppleton School - impeded access along the footway.

Mr Gillies said about the rail, which is in a conservation area: "You would expect a handrail to be up against the wall - but this is away from the wall towards the centre of the path."

He called on City of York Council to replace the rail with one that would be more commensurate with the conservation area - and located at the edge of the path.

And he said the council has now offered to reposition the handrail by the edge of the route and redesign it if the funds are available.

Mr Gillies said that he would meet Nether Poppleton Parish Council next week, after which he would report the council's preferred course of action regarding the rail to City of York Council.

He said today: "I'm happy that City of York Council seems to have moved so quickly on this. I'm delighted that it agrees there's a problem and that it has offered certain suggestions."

A spokeswoman for City of York Council said: "We can confirm that the council's highway infrastructure team will see what can be done to improve the handrail."