Disadvantaged groups in Keighley are being prescribed a dose of the great outdoors as part of a unique pilot project aimed at improving people's health.

Yorkshire Water has joined forces with a local organisation called Walking For All in Keighley (WALK) to encourage people with health and social disadvantages to make more use of the company's reservoirs, moorland and woodland for recreation.

A special fund has been set up which will be used to finance organised trips to Yorkshire Water's local reservoirs where groups will be given the opportunity to explore the stunning scenery, wildlife and architecture on offer there.

Walking is an ideal form of exercise - research shows that someone who does 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week can significantly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity, and improve their sense of well-being.

As well as improving people's health, the scheme is also designed to promote a greater public awareness of Yorkshire Water's many roles and responsibilities as the region's largest landowner.

WALK is part of an initiative called Walking The Way To Health, a national project led by the Countryside Agency and British Heart Foundation, which also benefits from extra funding from the New Opportunities Fund and Kia Cars.

The Walking The Way To Health Initiative aims to increase the health of people who take little exercise or live in areas of poor health by promoting regular and brisk walking on people's doorsteps.

Miles Foulger, Yorkshire Water's Environment & Catchment Manager, said: "Yorkshire Water owns 72,000 acres of some of the most beautiful countryside in the UK. While we have already made significant progress providing greater public access to this land, unfortunately some groups are still unable to visit for either social or cultural reasons.

"The aim of this initiative is to help them overcome these barriers by organising trips to our local sites such as Ogden Water between Keighley and Halifax, Haworth Moor, Withens Clough and the Washburn Valley in North Yorkshire.

"In doing so we want to afford them the same opportunities to enjoy the land as others have.

"Our aims and objectives are almost identical to those of the Walking The Way To Health Initiative and we are delighted to be working with them on a project which we are confident will greatly enhance not only people's health but their quality and appreciation of life and the environment in general."

Yorkshire Water has chosen Keighley to pilot the project after recent research ranked the Bradford district as the most deprived health authority in the Yorkshire region and the eighth most deprived in the country.

In the report, Keighley was singled out as an area where a considerable number of people suffered from extreme poor health, poor housing, high unemployment and poor environmental conditions.

This was reflected by high rates of diabetes, coronary heart disease and mental illness.

In Keighley, diabetes is more than four times the national average and deaths from coronary heart disease more than double.

Lorna Palmer, Keighley's full-time walking co-ordinator for the Walking The Way To Health Initiative, said: "Walking For All in Keighley is a very active project. My job is really very simple - to get people in Keighley walking more to achieve public health benefit.

"Inactivity is the biggest public health problem we have at the moment. I work with a variety of community groups and this fund provided by Yorkshire Water will help me to reach even more.

"Even occasional walks for pleasure can have health benefits and so I hope this project can really make a difference."