INSCRIPTIONS on scores of historic stones on the North Yorks Moors are being lost because of bad weather and thieves, according to leading historian and teacher.

Eric Frisby, of West Cornforth, County Durham, believes many stories relating to stones may be lost.

He said: "They surely deserve our attention and preservation, but no one seems to want to take on the responsibility. Some are memorial stones, others mark boundaries or are refuges for pilgrims on their way from Byland and Rievaulx abbeys to Whitby Abbey."

Many stones have suffered weathering, but the biggest crisis is being caused by people who are using four-track vehicles to get on to the heart of the moors over rough terrain and remove the stones for use in private gardens.

Mr Frisby said that one stone, on Wheeldale Moor, which marks the spot where a long-serving gamekeeper died, is pitted with bullet marks after being used for target practice.

He has asked English Heritage, the National Park Authority and National Trust to take on the responsibility for caring for the monuments, but without success because of the potential cost.

Mr Frisby said that resins used to protect cathedrals and other important ancient buildings could be used to safeguard the inscriptions.

Many of the stones record tragedies, while some isolated boulders, known as hanging stones, are thought to have been used for hanging sheep rustlers, or places where people have committed suicide, because they hang over slopes on the moor.