Members of Wirksworth Riding Association are gathering support to have a path at the National Stone Centre upgraded for horses to use legally.

Riders claim they have been using the historical path for years as a safe shortcut to the trail and have never had any problems.

However Stone Centre bosses insist the path is private property and riders are not welcome after complaints from visitors.

Jill Bowyer, of Wirksworth Riding Association, said there was a lot of support in the town for horses to use the path.

She added: "We have never been challenged about it before, then all of a sudden nasty notices were put up. Everybody is up in arms about it.

"We don't have many bridleways in Wirksworth and there are no circular routes. Basically we are quite angry because this is pushing riders on to the roads.

"People are very upset. Local people have been stopped from using a facility which has been theirs since Doomsday."

Jerry Climpson, operations manager at the Stone Centre, said some of the paths had been chewed up by horses and he had received complaints from school parties about the mess.

He said the centre would object strongly to plans to upgrade the footpath.

He added: "I do appreciate there are not many bridleways but this is a conflict of use. They have no reason to be on the site.

"All we are doing is enforcing our rights.

"They have used it for so long they think it is their right and are under the assumption it is council property when actually we are a small independent charity and it is private land."

But local horse rider Terri Creasey said she had been riding at the stone centre for 28 years and felt people liked to see the horses.

She added: "I'm always stopping to let children pat the ponies. I have never met anybody up there who has moaned at me in all these years."