HUNDREDS of protesters have marched against the siting of 50-metre high pylons as close within yards of the Lake District National Park boundary.

The 500-strong New Year's Day march was part of a campaign to protect the landscape from being blighted by the huge metal structures.

There were two starting points – Broughton-in-Furness and Askam – with the marchers eventually meeting up at Kirkby-in-Furness.

The pylons have been proposed as a means to connect the new power station at Moorside, in West Cumbria, to Heysham and Carlisle.

Furness MP John Woodcock, who attended the march, said: "This is one of the most treasured and beautiful parts of England, a prize part of the Lake District. It is just not acceptable to propose these giant pylons cutting up the wonderful scenery here.

"The government needs to listen to what we are saying and choose one of the alternative routes which doesn't do carnage to this part of the country."

National Grid opened up its North West Coast Connections consultation on the £2.8bn plan in October and the closing date is tomorrow (Friday).

Farmers and residents have had the opportunity to express their concerns about the pylons and vocalise their opinions on potential alternatives.

Undergrounding the cables through the national park is one of the proposals that has been made.

However, farmers have raised concerns that this could threaten their livelihoods as it would require the digging of trenches on stretches of land 100 metres wide. They say this could render their fields unusable for the duration of the installation and until National Grid carries out its promised reinstatement following the construction period.

Leading Cumbrian farmer and former NFU county chairman Alistair Mackintosh could see his farm at Ravenglass split by the trenches.

"I can't know the full cost but it seems to me that there's going to be a wide trench dug right through my farm, so there will be serious cost involved," he said. "It is not just a 100 metre wide strip of land. It is going to affect every field a farmer has got as the trench cuts through the whole farm. It will damage the top soil and cause a loss of grazing. There are a lot of inconveniences to having a field split in two.

"This is not something that farmers will make money out of. We are being compensated for loss of income. Anybody who thinks we will make any money is deluded."

Chartered surveyor Tracy Jackson, of Harrison & Hetherington, the firm representing farmers during the consultation, said: "There are a lot of farmers in the Lake District who would prefer the underground cables because of the way the pylons would look, but who don't appreciate the amount of work it is going to take to lay these cables.

"A vast amount of land will be required. The cables need to be laid in separate ditches because of the heat, so they are going to have a massive impact on some farming businesses.

"I have clients who are going to lose a massive amount of land and their business could be unviable for a time. Some farmers really believe that they are going to have to reduce livestock numbers because there won't be the land available to make crop and graze stock."

National Grid is committed to compensating the farmers affected and re-instating the land damaged during construction.

Robert Powell, North West Coast Connections Project Manager, said: “We will be reviewing all the feedback we’ve received and will be using it to help us finalise our plans. We expect to be in a position to apply to the Government this year for permission for the connection to be built.”