MP FOR Barrow and Furness, John Woodcock, will be walking against proposed Furness pylons.

John Woodcock will be joining environmental campaigners for a new year's day walk to highlight opposition to the electricity pylons.

The march will begin in two places – Askam beach and Broughton square – and meet near the cottages by Kirkby railway station.

National Grid is consulting on plans to spend £2.8bn to link the proposed new nuclear plant at Moorside near Sellafield in west Cumbria to the power station at Heysham.

The plan would see pylons running through the Duddon Valley, Broughton, Kirkby, Ireleth, Dalton, Newton and Roosecote before diverting under the bay.

Mr Woodcock said: "In more than six years of representing the people of Barrow and Furness few campaigns I have been involved in have stirred as much passion as this fight to protect the beauty of our landscape from these giant pylons.

"National Grid has said it will listen to the views of local people and we need to demonstrate our strength of feeling ahead of the public consultation closing on January 6."

A spokesperson for the National Grid said: “We are planning extensive measures to reduce the impact of the project on the landscape of Cumbria while balancing this with the need to keep energy bills affordable.

This includes putting over a quarter of the new connection underground and removing some existing pylons that will no longer be required. We have had to make some difficult choices about landscapes outside the national park but we believe that we can reduce the impact on them by sensitive placement of pylons and screening.

"People's views have played an important role in helping to shape our proposals and we will listen carefully to the feedback from our current consultation."

The march will begin in two places – Askam beach and Broughton square – and meet near the cottages by Kirkby railway station.

Those joining the Askam contingent should meet on the car park at the bottom of Duddon Road at 9.30am and people starting from Broughton are asked to assemble in the square at the same time.