A West Cumbrian hotel plans to expand its facilities to attract more visitors to the Western Lakes.

The Melbreak Hotel, near Great Clifton, was given planning permission yesterday by Allerdale council to develop land behind its premises with 20 camping pods and 14 caravan pitches.

The camping pods will offer visitors the chance to experience 'glamping'.

Caroline Hughes, of the hotel, said: "It's a really exciting project which will bring a different dimension to the business, opening up the scope of accommodation that we offer.

"From ideas we've picked up from guests, people we've met along the way and a little bit of investigation we found that camping is really popular.

"Some people may not like the idea of camping in a tent but they like the idea of glamping, where you have a solid cover over your head.

"The project is to have a fully functioning site with toilets and showers and there's a restaurant on site at the hotel, so those people who like camping but don't necessarily want to do self-catering have that opportunity of the on-site restaurant."

Mrs Hughes, who is a shareholder in the hotel owned by her parents Ronald and Dorothy Kirkby, said there was a lot of preliminary work to be done but she was hoping to be able to deliver the project as quickly as possible.

She added: "This is the challenging part, putting all the ideas and plans into being.

"The Lake District is such a beautiful place and sometimes the Western Lakes don't get the attention that Keswick and Windermere get and we are on the doorstep.

"We send our customers to places such as Buttermere, Loweswater and Muncaster and they are enthralled.

"We like to show people that there's more to the Lake District and offering accommodation closer to those location will hopefully help."