Lake District admirers have criticised a "breathtakingly biased" report which they claim downplays the damage caused by 4x4s churning up land once owned by Beatrix Potter.

Campaigners claim the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) is turning a blind eye to the disruption caused by tourists who hire off-road vehicles to immerse themselves in the scenery which inspired some of William Wordsworth's most iconic poems.

They argue that noise, pollution and erosion on two farm tracks near Little Langdale is destroying the legacy of nature-lover Potter, who left 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust, as well as disturbing sheep grazing on the fells and making it difficult for farm vehicles to pass along the routes.

But following a two-year review, the LDNPA has concluded that the impact is "negligible", the disturbance "localised and temporary", and that there is "no actual evidence of artistic inspiration being reduced or stifled".

It suggests Cumbria County Council should do more to maintain the tracks.

The report will be presented to a crucial meeting on Tuesday (Oct 8) where it will be decided if off-road vehicles should be banned.

Its findings have been branded "truly scandalous" and "breathtakingly biased" by campaigners, who say it "brushes aside" legitimate concerns.