not such a little step ladder if you please
as far as i can tell - if this path is marked down on council records as PROW (public right of Way) .... even though its your land - you can't fence it off
but you can apply collectively to have it removed as such .............. but don't hold your breath
and not unknown to hijack genuine accounts, create genuine new ones etc etc
still not something I'd ever do and as I recall, someone did something similar not too long ago and lost about £4000
your money, your risk