A KEEN runner has described the council in Weymouth as “health illiterate” after a sign appeared prohibiting running on a set of steps.

Kevin Archer said that the sign on the steps up to the Nothe Gardens and fort was the latest blow to fitness dealt by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

He claimed that a handful of runners with rubber shoes would not cause damage to the steps and said the sign was “pathetic”.

Mr Archer added: “This council is health illiterate and health ignorant. The population is suffering.”

Mr Archer said that he has been in contact with the council over numerous health and fitness issues, including the poor state of the running track at the Marsh.

He has also urged councillors to put up signage encouraging drivers to switch off their engines at the Town Bridge when the bridge has been raised, in order to minimise the effects of pollution on public health.

Cllr Andy Blackwood, council community facilities spokesman, said: “The sign has been erected on the old steps as we’ve become aware that people are running up and down them as part of a fitness regime.

“While we don’t want to discourage people from exercising, the steps are part of the old railway that used to pull the ammunition up to the Fort during the war, so are a significant part of Weymouth’s history.

“They are also grade II listed, so the process of repairing and maintaining them is not straightforward.

“To ensure that we protect them, and that they remain open to the public, we have had to erect the health and safety sign.”

Mr Archer said that the current state of the running track at the Marsh was “dangerous” for young runners and pointed to his own experiences promoting health at a local authority in the north of England during the 1980s.

He said: “The council was really proactive and, for 18 years, we actually promoted and used running tracks for the benefit of people’s health.

“Since I have been down here, this council has done nothing towards that community aim and let the track go to neglect.”

Cllr Blackwood added that the council is working to improve athletics provision with regards to the track at the Marsh.

He said: “Several years of government cuts to council funding have made it impossible for us to maintain [the track] to the standard we would like, but we have been working with the athletics club to ensure the continued provision of suitable facilities in the borough.”