A PLEA for politeness and courtesy from all towpath users, especially cyclists and runners, has been made to cut canalside conflicts.

In a bid to encourage better behaviour on popular stretches of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Canal & River Trust is calling for the return of old-fashioned manners to preserve the peace in a campaign called Share the Space, Drop your Pace.

Built at the time of the Industrial Revolution for horses to tow boats laden with goods, towpaths are now more popular than ever, with walkers, cyclists, boaters, anglers and runners all sharing the often narrow waterside paths.

During 2015, 60 million visits were made to Canal & River Trust’s towpaths in the North West prompting the charity, which cares for 2,000 miles of waterway in England and Wales, to introduce special "polite zones".

The zones will have messages sprayed on to the towpath to encourage people to "smile and say hi as you go by" and to remember that they are entering "a hat-tipping zone’, a nod to times past when people tipped their hats or doffed their caps as a sign of respect or merely as a greeting.

Visitors will also be able to soak up wise words from Canal Laureate Luke Kennard who has penned a poem to help tackle towpath troubles that begins:

"New traveller of the shining towpath,

Please be mindful as you roam.

It’s not that you can’t speak, eat, laugh,

But this is everyone’s home.

Let others too enjoy its use,

Be like the duck and not the goose."

Sarah Knight, engagement and development manager at the Canal & River Trust, said: "Whether cycling, running, walking, mooring your boat or fishing, please help by being considerate of others, slowing down and remembering we are all there to enjoy the space.

"If you’re in a rush, the towpath is not the best place for you so please choose a different route.

"For many people our towpaths are among their most precious green spaces, antidotes to the pace and stress of the modern world and places to relax and unwind. They are ‘super slow ways’, providing a slice of peace and calm through the centres of our busiest cities.

"We want to remind our visitors to the towpaths that old fashioned manners still have a place on our modern towpaths."

Christine McCabe, chairman of Bingley's Walkers are Welcome, said she was unaware of any particular problems on the Aire Valley stretch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

"We organised a walk for 50 people last week weekend with no issues," she said.

"What does go a long way is if cyclists ring a bell to get past and then just say thank you."