Recent case law suggests the local authority may be liable for giving incorrect information in response to local conveyancing enquiries. So if the footpath was registered and they failed to disclose this in their Local Search they may have to pay you compensation.<p></p><p> Whilst financial compensation is a comfort, what you really want is for the problem to disappear. Public footpaths are noted on a &amp;“Definitive Map&amp;” kept by local highway authorities - usually county councils. But even if a path is not included on the map it may still be a public footpath and an application may be made, quite often by the local parish council or ramblers association, to add one to the map if there are documents which show the footpath was dedicated for public use or that for 20 years members of the public have used the path believing it to be a public right of way. Evidence as to gates, &amp;“Private - keep out&amp;” notices and the like are important here. You could therefore contest the footpath either on the basis that the footpath is included wrongly on the Definitive Map, or that it is not included and there is no user evidence, and no …