THE ploughing season has arrived again.

It marks the time when many field paths are, in my view, ploughed up unnecessarily when, with a little care and consideration by farmers, many paths could be left unploughed instead of being turned into unusable muddy tracks for many weeks and months.

Farmers who take the selfish and inconsiderate approach of ploughing up paths, which could be left alone, should be reminded that the walkers who are deprived of decent field paths are the same people who, via their tax payments, support these farmers in the form of generous agricultural subsidies.

Tom Philipson, Spennymoor