Women are being urged to start walking in a bid to boost their health.

The Off the Sofa campaign has been launched by Keighley Women's Centre in Skipton Road, Keighley, thanks to a £24,000 handout from the Countryside Agency.

It is aimed at getting women to take part in organised group walks of between two and six miles.

The campaign is linked to the Walking the Way to Health initiative, a joint venture by the Countryside Agency and the British Heart Foundation, and sponsored by Kia cars.

Keighley Women's Centre manager Annette Dent said the campaign will be launched on Friday when the centre hosts a walk and lunch.

The group was involved in last year's pilot project and found that women were highly enthusiastic.

"Women view the walks as both a social occasion and fitness session. Women are able to increase their fitness level at a pace they feel is appropriate, without having to pay to use a gym," she said.

Amanda Ratcliffe, regional officer of the Walking the Way to Health project, said: "Our grant confirms this scheme as one of the country's leading healthy walking initiatives."

Group walks ensured women could forget their fears of walking alone and there was also a chance for women who were isolated at home to get out and about.

She said walks attracted women of all ages from mums pushing buggies to women in their 80s.

The project was sparked in response to the growing obesity problem in the UK.

Heart and circulatory disease was one the UK's biggest killers, with almost twice as many women dying of the disease than cancer, she added.

Formed in 1983, Keighley Women's Centre runs counselling and healthcare services and promotes women's issues throughout the Keighley area.