TWO North Yorkshire comm-unities who have campaigned for safer roads appear to have been successful.

People who live in West Witton, in Wensleydale, and in Plummer Road, in Catterick Garrison, have become so concerned about drivers speeding that they have submitted petitions pressing North Yorkshire County Council to intervene.

On Monday, a report to be submitted to a meeting of the authority's Richmondshire area committee suggests highways chiefs are willing to bow to public opinion.

West Witton lies on the A684 - a route used heavily in the summer by tourists heading for the northern Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.

Villagers claim too many drivers have been ignoring the 30mph speed limit - 101 signing a petition calling for action. When the council conducted its own survey in June, it found that 85 per cent of the vehicles passed through at 30mph or very close to it.

Nevertheless, Monday's meeting will be told the county authority can afford to pay for more prominent 30mph speed signs, countdown markings on the approaches and paintwork to highlight hatching at the eastern end of the village.

Only the residents' request for double white lines seems set to be rejected - but only because the location does not fit Department of Transport criteria.

Meanwhile, people who live on Plummer Road, in Catterick Garrison, could be celebrating equal success on Monday.

Galvanised by an accident in June in which a child was injured while crossing the road, 132 people signed a petition urging the county council to take action to slow the traffic down.

This time, the authority's own research showed that most vehicles using the road were travelling at almost 10mph above the 30mph speed limit.

Council officers therefore concluded there was a case for improvements, which could include a lower speed limit, a pedestrian crossing or even speed humps.

But, as the cost is likely to be high, the project will be competing with a list of similar schemes around the county, and it could be some time before any road safety package is implemented.

However, Monday's meeting will be told that the highways department has already sanctioned new road markings to emphasise the 30mph limit in the hope they will help to persuade more drivers to reduce their speed