RIGHT to roam legislation could lead to a lethal mixture of racehorses, ramblers, dogs and children on Middleham Moor, the mayor, Coun Tammi Tolhurst, warned this week.

"It's going to be a disaster," said Coun Tolhurst. She said that last year the town council tried constantly to explain this to the Countryside Agency and had asked for the Low and High Moors to be designated excepted land with no right to roam there.

As they approached the November deadline for making comments about the proposed open access, they found it impossible to make contact with anyone in authority at the Countryside Agency, Coun Tolhurst said.

Afterwards they were informed that an exception could not be made for the moors.

"There can be 400 to 500 horses training on the moors each day," she said. "Some of the horses are young and skittish. It will only be a matter of time before there is an accident.

"There are situations where the right to roam legislation is just a nonsense. People are going to get hurt. And where there are people there are likely to be children and dogs."

She said the Countryside Agency had told the town council, which owns the land, to put up signs warning people not to go on the moors when the horses were there.

Coun Tolhurst added: "Under this legislation, people could access the moors from anywhere and they could ignore the signs. How are we supposed to police it? As the landowner, the council would be liable for any accidents on the moors."

Middleham Town Council has, therefore, written to William Hague MP. He has forwarded that letter to the office of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. In the letter, the council questioned how the right to roam legislation would affect risk assessment and insurance cover as little consideration seemed to have been given to public safety.

The council pointed out that racehorses were on the moor throughout the day and reiterated that the area should not be designated for open access.

A spokesman for the Countryside Agency said: "If councillors are concerned, they should contact the Countryside Agency directly. Essentially, the legislation about the countryside and right of way specify what is classed as excepted land - where land may have been mapped as open country but the rights of access will not apply.

"In schedule one, it lists what these excepted lands are and lists land used for training of racehorses and gallops.

"The public will be advised on how these rights will work, but the rights are not in operation yet."

For more information, call the Countryside Agency access mapping helpline on 0845 1003298.

See Business News, page 18.