Hill walkers are warning their hobby is under threat after a court case awarding major damages to a woman who fell on a trek in Wicklow.

Teresa Wall of Rathingle Cottages in Swords County Dublin, received €40,000 after she sued the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Mrs Wall says she injured herself on a rotting boardwalk on the Wicklow Way which was left in a 'disgraceful state'.

Helen Lawless is the Hill Walking Access & Conservation Officer with Mountaineering Ireland.

She claims it was unrealistic to expect the boardwalk in Wicklow to be maintained any better: "We're talking about a structure that's in a mountain environment at a height of over 550 meters. And we shouldn't have the same expectation of structures at the setting that we would have of a path at a low level. It goes back to that fundamental principle for people that are engaged in outdoor pursuits that we need to be mindful of our own safety."