A FOUR-YEAR project to pump new life into Dartmoor's historic leat network has drawn to a close having achieved its aims.

The moor has in excess of 62 miles of man-made channels that still flow, many more which have long run dry.

Some date back to the 14th century and all were cut by hand to supply mills, mines and households, the water being drawn from streams and rivers.

Perhaps the best known is the 27-mile Devonport Leat, completed in 1802, which was built for the expanding Plymouth dock area, and includes a 684-yard tunnel beneath Nun's Cross.

Even today, leats remain the only source of water for a clutch of moorland families and an important feature of many farmyards for their free 'pot' water.

In 2009 the Dartmoor Trust, having surveyed the entire surviving system, offered £10,000 for the restoration of several sites, all of which have public access.

The leats chosen were Merrivale, Chagford, Lukesland, Sheepstor, Grimstone and Sortridge, Butterbrook and Holne.

A partnership was formed with Dartmoor National Park Authority and a further £10,000 was forthcoming from other sources including the parks's archaeology budget, the Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund, the Duchy of Cornwall, landowners, commoners and parish councils.

Expert mason Dave Hannaford from Ashburton was appointed to carry out the work and having worked at sites on the high moor for the past four years, he was this month able to put the finishing touches to Holne Town Gutter, where a new granite clapper bridge has been laid, the channel cleared and silt traps installed.

'I think I must be the last man to have put in a clapper on the moor,' said 63-year-old Mr Hannaford, a man referred to by National Park figures as 'Mr Dartmoor' for the amount of historic restoration he has carried out at sites including cairns and stone circles.

'I put another clapper in about six or seven years ago over a pond at Water, Manaton, and that was 65ft long,' he said.

'I've raised it up and it now looks exactly like a clapper should be. I do everything by eye, don't use a level or site gear.'

Mr Hannaford said working on leats could be awkward as the water had to be cut off and people didn't like that, not even for a an hour or two.

Indeed, so precious is the supply that leats and their sluices are tampered with by hands unknown, resulting in times in a less than equitable share of water.

At Holne Mr Hannaford has had to pin and glue granite blocks into place to prevent the practice, while elsewhere, the 'bull's eye' holes that control the flow are sometimes blocked or drilled out to make them bigger.

Having worked on the historic structures for several years now, Mr Hannaford's respect for their builders has grown considerably.

'I take my hat off to them,' he said.

'I've actually seen the turf-cutting being done and they'll just tip it away, then the water follows, it's brilliant. They'll go miles along the hillside and you wonder why, but of course it's to find the contour and keep the water running. To me that's brilliant and I'm very pleased to be working on them.'

Dr Jane Marchand, senior archaeologist with the National Park Authority, has overseen the leat restoration project.

'It's been a great success, perhaps one of the best things I've done and credit must go to the Dartmoor Trust,' she said.

'We've met so many interesting people and I think we have done something really good for the moor by keeping these leats running for who knows how many more years.

'They go back to medieval times, the Grimstone and Sortridge Leat is thought to date to the 14th century.

'It was when corn and tin mills fell out of use that many lost their purpose but they've also had dual use, supplying water for the locals and they still do.

'The Butterbrook Leat up at Harford Moor is the only supply for two farms, likewise on the Grimstone and Sortridge where there's a property too, it's amazing really.

'They're far more than just a redundant feature, they're an important part of the landscape and make a really good walk which people enjoy following for miles.

'They're almost unique to Dartmoor I think and with a little money left in the pot it might be possible that we can carry out one more restoration.'

Referring to Mr Hannaford's nickname of Mr Dartmoor she said: 'He can't retire, we'd suffer terribly. Working with Dave, well he just never lets you down and seriously, he's fantastic.'