LEADING racehorse trainers are pressing a cash-strapped council to urgently resurface a key road after revealing that numerous thoroughbreds had slipped over while attempting to reach their gallops.

Members of the horseracing community in Middleham, North Yorkshire, said the surface of a 1.5-mile stretch of High Moor Lane, which is the only way for many of the trainers in the town to reach High Moor gallops, had become so treacherous many riders feared for their and their horses lives.

The trainers, who pay North Yorkshire County Council to rent the gallops and business rates, said racehorses weighing around 500kg had gone down on the road close to riders, as the smooth surface had made it like walking on ice for the horses.

The authority has traditionally replaced the road surface in parts of the town annually as the horses need a rough surface with their metalled hooves, but trainers said the lane to High Moor had not been properly resurfaced for three years.

The calls come almost two months after Middleham Mayor Councillor Tammi Tolhurst said she feared the county authority may stop replacing the road surface in parts of the town annually, as it works towards cutting its spending by £167m.

Kelly Burke, the daughter of trainer Karl Burke, said as using the road surface now meant risking the lives of thoroughbreds - if they sustained an injury such as a broken leg - worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, trainers had been forced to stop using High Moor gallops.

She said: "The road surface has never been this bad before, it has become lethal.

"A week ago we saw three horses fall and this week a two-year-old went down.

"We are getting injuries such as pulled muscles, which means we have to explain the vets' fees to their owners."

Some of the 13 trainers in the town said they were having to share Low Moor gallops, which made training difficult due to the number of horses there.

Ms Burke added: "We need the council to act quickly, we are worried if it does not happen in the next few weeks the road won't be resurfaced before spring.

"So far, calls from the trainers have been met with deaf ears and the council doesn't seem to have any sense of urgency."

A council spokeswoman said it was aware of concerns raised by the equestrian community in Middleham and planned to retexture sections of the carriageway on High Moor Lane to improve grip in November.