HAULAGE companies are to be urged to find alternatives to the picture-postcard route from Helmsley to Stokesley because they are making a misery of the lives of residents in villages.

It is the latest move in the campaign by people living in the beauty spot of Bilsdale who say that HGVs and hundreds of motorists and motorcyclists each weekend are not only destroying their quality of life but also putting lives at risk.

Ken Braithwaite, chairman of the pressure group Bilsdale Against Noise and Danger (BAND), says 40 people attended a public meeting last week to put forward their concerns to the police, headed by chief superintendent David Short.

Latest figures, says Mr Braithwaite, show that 182 HGVs used the road in a 16-hour period, mostly making their way from Teesside to the Humber ports and Scarborough.

"We particularly want the volume of noise eliminated," said Mr Braithwaite. "Bilsdale is an area where people come to enjoy the scenery and the tranquillity, but both are being ruined by motorcycles and heavy lorries."

The worries of people at Chop Gate, the worst-affected community, are now being echoed by residents at Helmsley who have seen the popular tourist town become a victim of the vehicles.

"The police are supporting us, so far as the motorcyclists are concerned," said Mr Braithwaite. "They say they are going to take positive action to curb speed, especially next spring and summer when the invasion starts again."

While the HGVs are not particularly breaking the speed limit, their noise and numbers are putting fear into the people of Chop Gate, said Mr Braithwaite.

Their fears are underlined by the road's accident record which, he says, includes four fatalities. In North Yorkshire as a whole, the number of motorcyclists killed in accidents this year has reached nearly 30 - the worst figure in the county's history - plus a long catalogue of other serious road crashes.

"My main concern is for the safety of our children. We must have action before there is a youngster killed," said Mr Braithwaite.

York Motor Cycle Action Group recently expressed its concern and said it will support the campaign to target what it describes as "warrior-type" riders.

Updated: 11:01 Wednesday, December 03, 2003