VILLAGERS living near a steep bank notorious for accidents and HGV blockages are using the Tour de Yorkshire as an opportunity to make a point to a global audience.

Sutton Bank and the southern approach village, Sutton under Whitestonecliffe, is the worst “cluster site” for crashes in Hambleton and one of the worst in North Yorkshire, according to statistics.

And accident figures do not take into account the number of times the road is blocked by HGVs which then have to reverse all the way back to Sutton under Whitestonecliffe because there is nowhere for them to turn on the busy road.

Parish councillors say this happens two or three times a week and they are using the Tour de Yorkshire to make a point by creating land art spelling out “Go 4 it - 1 in 4 Sutton’s not for turning” in giant white letters.

The ‘Go 4 it’ message is to spur the Tour de Yorkshire cyclists on when they climb the hill today, while the ‘1 in 4’ references the bank’s steep gradient and the ‘not for turning’ sends out a message about the dangers of HGV drivers reversing almost two miles away from the bank before they can safely turn.

Parish Council chairman, Cllr Caroline Artingstoll, said the land art was a way to get their message across on a day when all eyes will be on Sutton Bank during stage three of the famous cycle race.

She said: “We keep trying to encourage and engage with the county council with regard to a turning layby of some description so that drivers could actually turn around safely rather than having to ring the police.

“There have been 44 incidents already this year where HGV drivers have been stuck.

“Some of them do get going again and make it up, but others don’t and will either try and reverse by themselves or get completely stuck and need a lot of help to turn around.”

The land art idea came from the parish council and the Hillside Scout Group created the slogan using giant sheets.

It was revealed at a March meeting of the county council’s Hambleton area committee that between 2014 and 2016 there were ten crashes in the Sutton Bank area, with up to 22 casualties including six children.

Don’t miss Tuesday’s Northern Echo for a souvenir picture pull-out celebrating the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire.