STRETCHES of Dartmoor's important leats are being restored to their original working state in a joint-funded project to help secure their future.

Through a partnership between the Dartmoor Trust and Dartmoor National Park Authority, damaged artificial water courses are being identified and repaired to ensure they are working properly.

The Grimstone and Sortridge leat is the most recent to have been repaired after losing water from a 30-metre section close to Merrivale Quarry.

The leat is still a vital water supply and is regularly maintained by members of the Grimstone and Sortridge Leat Committee.

But over the last few years, there have been increasing concerns about water being lost where it flows through a granite lined conduit.

This leak led to a smaller flow of water downstream and sometimes resulted in no water at all.

A timber lining, made from locally sourced sweet chestnut and strengthened with steel rods to carry the water through the leaking section, was constructed by Dartmoor National Park's conservation works team and has now been installed in the leat.

The leat committee carried out some of the necessary ground work and additional funding was provided by the Duchy of Cornwall and the Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund.

The Grimstone and Sortridge leat supplies 27 families with water and is one of the longest flowing Dartmoor leats, drawing its water from the River Walkham.

It is among the most historic leats on Dartmoor, believed to have origins as a water supply for the medieval manors of Sortridge and Grimstone, near Horrabridge.