CHECKS by firefighters have revealed five speeding hot-spots which will now be clamped down on by the police.

A team from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service used a flashing speed sign at 20 places across Ryedale to warn drivers they were going too fast.

Further sites will be targeted over the next six weeks.

Assistant Divisional Officer Danny Westmoreland said: "Initially we selected sites where we thought there was a problem of speeding, and, once news of the sign spread, we also accepted calls from town and parish councils who asked us to carry out checks."

The signs, which were paid for by the community partnership Safer Ryedale, are put in place for between two to five hours.

"It takes time to fully risk assess and survey each site.

"But once we're in place, the records of speeding motorists are automatically registered by the speed matrix so we can review it in detail later," said Mr Westmoreland.

Five sites revealed by the data to have a serious problem will be targeted by police officers who will carry out enforcement action.

Sergeant Cliff Edens, community police officer for the rural area of Ryedale, said: "We know speed kills and this is a tremendous initiative to cut down on road accidents and ultimately serious injuries and deaths.

"The data recorded by this new equipment tells us exactly where in Ryedale most people are breaking the speed limits and by how much. We are going to return to the sites where the most offences are being committed to enforce the law."