RESIDENTS in remote areas of North Yorkshire fear they will be cut off by snow this winter if council plans to reduce a gritter fleet are approved.

North Yorkshire County Council pays £2m a year to Balfour Beatty to hire 96 gritters from them.

But the council is proposing reducing the gritters it hires to 73 over the next three years to save £26,000 annually.

This has led residents in the Yorkshire Dales to fear a drop in the level of service provided.

Councillor John Blackie, who covers the Upper Dales area for the county, said the scheme needed watching carefully.

He said: "I am extremely concerned, and so are the communities in the Upper Dales, that if this is approved it will lead to a reduction in the intensity of coverage in these sparsely populated areas.

"The weather in the Dales can be wild in the winter and no-one there wants to reduce the coverage - if anything they want to increase it.

"What I would be concerned about is that we clearly don't want gritting policy dictated by population numbers. The Dales does not have the large population numbers, but being able to get around is very important."

However, Coun Blackie added that if the service could be maintained with the reduced number of gritters and sufficient breakdown cover was provided, then the scheme should be considered.

The county council gritting service covers more than 6,000 miles of roads every year.

But council officers say the authority's winter maintenance programme, which includes gritting, costs £6.8m a year and is higher than other councils.

They state that on only 23 occasions in the past five years has there ever been more than 60 gritters on the roads.

Dave Bowe, assistant director of highways and transportation, said no-one would be cut off.

He said: "In extreme conditions we don't rely solely on our fleet and we have another 150 vehicles, like farmers, we can call on to clear the roads.

"We would not target specific areas for gritting, but would do it in line with council policy.

"This would be a phased reduction over three years and we will respond to any changing circumstances."

The authority's transport and telecommunications committee is to look at the proposals on Wednesday.