Emmerdale producers have been hit with a bill for around £30,000 after an area on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire was damaged during filming. The Cow and Calf rock formation on the moor was the location for the scene in which John Barton, played by actor James Thornton, was killed in a car accident - which later went on to win the Spectacular Scene Of The Year prize at the British Soap Awards. However admirers of the area have accused producers of leaving it covered in churned up mud and tyre tracks. "A vast amount of equipment was taken up the moor, completely ruining a path up the rocks," Friends of Ilkley Moor chairman Owen Wells told The Sun. "They made a hell of a mess. "Emmerdale is perhaps Yorkshire’s favourite soap but they were guilty of substantial damage to an iconic local landscape. It was a PR disaster." Wells went on to say that ITV had paid £21,000 to repair the damaged track and a further £5,000 to lay a footpath - as well as donating £2,000 to the group in a goodwill gesture. An Emmerdale spokeswoman told the paper, "If we film anywhere, we always make good afterwards, that's the agreement."
