HORSE riders say their safety is being put at risk by vandals who have removed warning signs on a shared pathway.

Signs asking cyclists to give way to horses and walkers on the route between Saltburn Riding Centre and Marske have disappeared without explanation.

Susan Perkins, of the Saltburn and District Bridleways Group, said on average there were two near-misses between riders and speeding cyclists each week on the narrow path. She said: "It certainly would not be horse riders who took the signs down. We have done everything legitimately and gone through the right channels."

Pam Watson, another member of the group, said: "There is room for everyone in this world, but this is an act of vandalism."

Coun Graham Jeffreys, Redcar and Cleveland cabinet member for rural affairs, said he would investigate.

Neil Craggs, founder member of the Cleveland Mountain Bike Club, believed it highly unlikely that any responsible cyclist would remove the signs. "But you always get a small element in any interest which wants the whole thing to themselves."