More people could go walking in Cumbria this year if a campaign to promote the county's wonders via Twitter is successful.

The plan has been launched by Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron, with the aim being to emulate a similar initiative by US president Barack Obama to promote visits to America.

Using the #visitcumbria hashtag, Mr Farron is seeking to ensure the county gets its fair share of visits in a year when the Olympics may bring many more visitors to Britain.

He said: "Every little helps and I hope that this initiative will allow us to spread the message around the world about the wonderful places and attractions that Cumbria has."

Large parts of the county are covered by the Lake District and part of the Yorkshire Dales, with both of these national parks set for expansion if Natural England's plans are passed by the secretary of state.

Most of the additional areas would be in Mr Farron's constituency.