Dorchester councillors have backed a charter which seeks to prioritise walkers in the town.

The town's planning committee has given unanimous support for The Ramblers' Charter for Walking Neighbourhoods.

It aims to make towns better places for those to walk around and includes principles on issues of safety, green spaces, community gardens and allotments and finding walking routes to connect people to places where they want to go.

"The intention is to prioritise the pedestrian and it would help keep that focus in mind," said Cllr Frances Hogwood.

She said that if there were more walking-friendly routes it might discourage people from getting into their cars to travel from one side of the town to the other.

Mayor Richard Biggs said that with the difficulties in getting 20mph zones introduced some of the principles behind the charter could encourage a better environment for walkers without the need for legal measures to impose slower speed limits which, he said, were almost impossible to enforce.