MAYBE you’re a lifelong resident, maybe you’re an occasional visitor, or perhaps you just pass through on your commute. Whatever your connection to the Duddon valley - it needs you.

That is the message from the Power Without Pylons group today, with just hours to go until National Grid’s consultation deadline.

Campaigners gathered in Broughton town square in a last-ditch show of solidarity over plans to erect 50-metre pylons across the valley, connecting the proposed Moorside power station to the UK electricity grid.

Public opposition has been building momentum over the past two years and has accelerated since National Grid’s official consultation was launched in October last year. The A595 is littered with ‘No Pylons’ signs and hundreds of people, including Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock, took part in two protest marches on New Year’s Day.

But, as the consultation ends at 5pm tomorrow, campaigners are stressing the need for those who object to submit a formal response before it’s too late.

Graham Barron, a leader of Power Without Pylons, said: “Every response counts. My message to anyone is that if you only do one thing on this issue, then reply to the consultation because it really is the last chance.”

The mood in Broughton square yesterday was resolute. Annette Carmichael, who runs a small bed and breakfast in the square, said: “This would have a devastating impact on my business. I can’t believe that there is no better alternative. This landscape is unique; 50-metre pylons will destroy it.

“I’ve contacted former guests from across the UK, Europe and the USA. All of them were appalled when I told them what was happening here. They have lodged their objections. It’s not just local people we’re fighting for.”

One of the Power Without Pylons’ group’s biggest gripes is with the lack of environmental protection for the area simply because it sits slightly outside the Lake District National Park. Friends of the Lake District, which considers the Duddon estuary within the setting of the park, has supported the campaign.

Mrs Carmichael said: “Tourists come for the whole experience, you can’t just create an artificial border.”

Mr Barron said that if National Grid ignored the views of the public in its subsequent application to the Planning Inspectorate, campaigners would fight every step of the way.

“We are not ruling anything out,” he said.