RENEWED calls for caution have been made following the deaths of three bikers in three days over the holiday weekend.

The roads of North Yorkshire are a magnet for motorcyclists from all over the region - but last year a total of 28 riders were killed on them.

Despite all the warnings, the figures are beginning to creep up again this year, with one biker killed last Saturday and two more in separate accidents on Bank Holiday Monday. That takes the 2004 total to five.

"These deaths act to underline all our concerns about motorcycling in this county," said a police spokesman yesterday.

"All our efforts, both in enforcement of traffic rules and education about the dangers, will continue.

"But it is not just about persuading the motorcyclists of the dangers - it is about making all the other road users aware of the issues too."

The first accident was on Saturday afternoon when Jonathan Stokes, 38, from Scarborough, died in a collision with a Ford Escort on the A171 Whitby to Scarborough road.

The second fatality happened on Monday morning as a group of motorcyclists rode south on the unclassified road between Greenhow and Blubberhouses, near Harrogate. The rider of a red Honda died when he collided with a cattle trailer being towed by a silver Vauxhall pick-up.

A third man died at about 9.30pm the same day in an horrific incident.

His machine exploded after colliding with a horse and cart on the A162 bypass at Sherburn-in-Elmet, which with Helmsley is one of the county's popular biker gathering places.

Little was left of the motorcycle after the explosion, while debris from the wooden cart was scattered over a wide area.

The horse bolted after the accident and was believed to have escaped unhurt. The driver of the horse and cart was taken to hospital suffering from shock, but was otherwise uninjured.

Late yesterday afternoon the road was still closed.

Even police were shocked at the devastation. Sergeant John Settle said he had seen nothing like it in 26 years with the force.

"The motorbike almost completely disintegrated and the trailer, which was made out of some substantial timber, shattered," he said.

* Police in Darlington are appealing for witnesses to a accident involving a motorcyclist yesterday morning. Officers attended Woodland Road at 5.45am after an anonymous call about a motorbike which had crashed into a skip.

No one was at the scene of the accident but police later discovered that the 51-year-old rider of the bike was being treated at Darlington Memorial Hospital for an injured spleen. An ambulance did not attend.

Inspector Brian Maudling, of Darlington police, said officers had not yet been able to interview the crash victim.

"It is a mystery how it happened and officers are still investigating how he came to collide with the skip," he said.

Insp Maudling asked any witnesses to contact police on (01325) 467681.