GRIFF Rhys Jones has backed a fundraising drive to pay for repairs to some of the country's best-known beauty spots.

The TV presenter urged people to support the work by the John Muir Trust, which looks after more than 70 miles of mountain and woodland footpaths and coastal trails, including the final zigzag to the summit of Ben Nevis and the main routes up Bla Bheinn on Skye and Schiehallion in Perthshire.

John Muir Trust footpath manager Chris Goodman said it needed to raise £60,000 every year to pay for materials, equipment and training for volunteers preparing to work in difficult conditions in some of Scotland's most remote areas.

Rhys Jones, who fronted the BBC series Mountain, has given his backing to the charity's campaign, saying: "A walk in the wild is a way to discover, explore and reconnect with ourselves and our natural world."

Mr Goodman added: "It's easy to take footpaths for granted, but the pressure of thousands of boots and gallons of rain can take its toll.

"Left untended, a delicate upland footpath can easily deteriorate into an ugly, waterlogged scar."