A flood-prone footpath which provides the safest route to a school will not be improved because of costs.

Disappointed parents of Valley Primary School pupils in Whitehaven have been told that the cost of fixing the path – which has been prone to flooding for more than 40 years – would be at least £150,000, while there was also no guarantee the remedial works would work.

Headteacher Nigel Shipton-Smith said the path is closed now because of Covid-19.

“We have had to minimise the number of entrances to the school," he said. "The main gate is on a busy road so children are not safe to walk to school by themselves and parents want the gate opened as soon as possible.

He said he had been at the school for 20 years and the problem was much older than that.

“Children come in with wet feet and we have to hang their socks over the radiator. It is not ideal.”

Well Whitehaven worked with Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Network Rail, Cumbria County Council and Copeland Council and the school to try to correct the flooding.

Various investigations took place using specialist equipment around the section of footpath and surrounding areas, and while there was some improvement to the water levels on the footpath during 2019, this has not continued.

A range of options have been considered but the cost of remedial work would be at least £150,000, and then it would not be guaranteed to ensure the footpath would remain dry, due to footpath being in the base of the valley.

Well Whitehaven said: “Even with the support of organisations within the nuclear supply chain who have offered manpower and groundwork assistance, Well Whitehaven and the Support Partners Group has reluctantly made the decision that it is not feasible to continue.”