VILLAGES in Ryedale are to help police buy a speed trap device - though there is not unanimous support for the scheme.

Many said they would help when Ryedale police Inspector Neil Burnett asked for contributions because there was not enough money in the police budget to buy the hand-held device.

Speeding is an issue many parish and town councils are very concerned about so the inspector wrote to all 50 of Ryedale's parish and town councils.

Little villages such as Broughton, Welburn, Bulmer, Flaxton and Birdsall said they would help.

However, two larger councils, Malton and Rillington, which have had many speeding concerns in the past, refused to chip in.

Rillington parish council clerk John Grace said: "A majority of councillors felt the gun wouldn't make a significant difference with having occasional speed checks. They were more concerned that the promised 30mph speed reduction was put in place."

He added: "I think Malton and Rillington both agreed that it was not our place as parish councils to pay for something the police should supply themselves."

There had been so many complaints about speeding, particularly around Malton and Norton, that some police officers had to concentrate on catching speeding motorists, rather than other duties. The experiment with the gun had proved effective and had caught around 100 motorists. Although many paid on-the-spot fines, Government rules meant this money could not be ploughed back into buying the gun.

The force had been using a hand-held laser gun on a three-month free trial. The gun was particularly useful as it could be used by officers on foot, rather than mounted on a police car. But there was not enough money in the police budget to pay for the gun when the trial was over, said Insp Burnett.

Updated: 09:10 Thursday, November 22, 2001