Calls from a Pembrokeshire community for footpath improvements have been answered thanks to funding from PLANED and help from National Park voluntary wardens.

Villagers wanted to use three popular footpaths at Saundersfoot Plantation throughout the year, but the natural surface meant the routes became muddy in wet weather.

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, which owns the land, co-ordinated the improvement work with £4,315 of funding from PLANED.

The Plantation is an 'island' of trees surrounded by houses. More than 300m of footpath was surfaced with compacted recycled tarmac and edged with board, making the routes accessible in all weathers.

Saundersfoot Community Councillor Phil Baker said: "Many people in the village use the paths as a short-cut or to walk their dogs. It's a lovely area and the work has made a vast improvement - everybody in the village seems thrilled to bits with it."

The work was carried out by local contractor Paul Butland, and Richard Hughes, of R&M Countryside Services, with help from wardens and voluntary wardens from the National Park Authority.

The project was supervised by south area ranger Tim Jones, who said: "We are extremely grateful to PLANED for the funding which enabled us to carry out this project and we're pleased that the work has made a difference for people locally.

"We used 100 tons of recycled tarmac to surface the paths, and once it beds in properly it will blend in really nicely into the woodland environment and should look lovely. We also improved all four access points to the Plantation. Our thanks go to all those involved in this partnership project, including the neighbours for their co-operation while the work was carried out."

• The PLANED funding came from the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Union.