Overhead power lines to be removed from common

Overhead electricity cables are to be removed from Little Asby Common, Electricity North West said

Overhead electricity lines at a site of special scientific interest are to be moved underground, a power operator has said.

About 1.3 miles (2.1km) of lines would be removed at Little Asby Common, in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, Electricity North West said, and replaced with underground cables.

Work would most likely start in the summer and take a few months, a spokesperson said.

Local conservation group Friends of the Lake District said the pylons were like "marching soldiers across the skyline" and the move would make a "massive difference" to the landscape.

It has described the site as one of the "most important limestone landscapes in England".

A spokesperson for the charity said removing the pylons would make electric supplies in the region "more resilient" against storm damage and freezing temperatures.