A DESCENDANT of one of the Lake District's most famous sons has joined the fight to help protect the landscape from giant pylons.

Communities across south Cumbria have been uniting to protect their beloved home from the 47-metre high structures.

Now, the great-great-great-great-grandson of revered poet William Wordsworth has added his voice to the masses.

Christopher Wordsworth paid tribute to his ancestor's work and is calling for the Duddon Valley – a place immortalised by the pen of Wordsworth – to be protected.

He said: “William Wordsworth was enthralled by the unique beauty of the Duddon, which inspired his famous Series of Sonnets.

"As much as the works of my ancestor are an important part of our literary heritage, his ‘long-loved Duddon’ is an important part of our natural heritage.

"We owe it to his memory to preserve its beauty for future generations to enjoy.”

With people all over the world looking to the Lake District as the perfect holiday destination, communities are concerned that the pylons will have a huge impact on Cumbria's thriving tourist industry.

Graham Barron, secretary of Power Without Pylons, said: “Protecting this important area is not just a local issue but a national issue. More than 40 million people visit Cumbria each year to enjoy these special landscapes: they don’t want them scarred by lumps of metal and unsightly overhead wires.

“There are feasible alternatives to pylons which we have campaigned for from the outset. If enough people state their objections to giant pylons in writing we believe the wall of opposition will force National Grid to reconsider.”

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Although the pylons will not cross the boundary of the National Park, for 3.5km in the Whicham Valley they will be just tens of metres away.

The Duddon Estuary will also be largely affected and campaigners are now urging people across the area to put their views into writing before National Grid's public consultation ends on January 6.

Dr Kate Willshaw, policy officer at Friends of the Lake District, said: “We need as many people as possible to tell National Grid that putting pylons just metres outside of the National Park’s south-western boundary will cause unacceptable damage, destroying the special qualities of the National Park and interrupting people's enjoyment of our beautiful landscape renowned throughout the world."