MORE than 100 Hambleton residents have signed two petitions calling for safety improvements on roads.

The collection of names has been presented to North Yorkshire County Council in the hope that work will be done on the roads in Swainby and Alne, near Easingwold.

A petition containing 48 names of road users in and around Swainby has been handed to the council, seeking the resurfacing of roads that they feel present a hazard.

The stretch of road leading from the village to Whorlton, which is heavily used by horse riders from the Crossbank Riding School, has been noted as needing particular work.

"The road is absolutely dreadful, it has been really neglected and is terribly dangerous for the many riders who come out around here," said the school's owner Angela Nelson.

However, county council director of environmental services Mike Moore, said the village's roads had not been identified in routine highway inspections as having safety concerns.

"The overall condition of the roads is not dissimilar to that seen on many rural, village roads in the county," he said. "

"Indeed there are several examples elsewhere of roads in greater need of maintenance expenditure."

The resurfacing of the road to Whorlton, which will cost in the region of £10,000, may be added to the provisional list of sites being considered.

Sixty people living at Alne Station have also signed a petition requesting the county council to give urgent consideration to the construction of a footpath between their homes and the village of Alne.

About 40 children live at Alne Station and rely on their families driving them to the village to go to the school, playing fields, tennis courts, park and post office.

"The road is terribly unsafe and its only a matter of time before a serious accident occurs," said local mother-of-three, Maree Hernaman.

"We feel cut off from the village, where there is so much going on."

The footway, which will cost £55,000 to build, may be added to the Integrated Transport Capital Programme.

The County Committee for Hambleton will inform the petitioners of the proposals after next Monday's meeting