A SURVEY has revealed that as many as one in ten vehicles on North Yorkshire's roads have at least one tyre in a dangerous condition.

The Tyre Industry Council checked a total of 695 vehicles and found that just over ten per cent had a tyre with the tread on the legal minimum or below.

They also discovered that only 11.5 per cent of drivers knew that the legal minimum for a tyre tread was 1.6mm, and that drivers' knowledge of tyre laws was generally poor.

Traffic sergeant Nigel Atkinson said: "Here comes winter with dark nights and slippery roads and what do we find? A hardcore minority of drivers who think they know better than the experts."

He added: "Worn tyres kill, it is as simple as that. It is not a difficult concept to grasp.

"It is hard to believe that there are still people who are prepared to risk lives like this."

The survey found that the incidence of illegal tyres was directly linked to the age and recorded mileage of the vehicle concerned.

Among the vehicles surveyed with a mileage of between 80,000 and 90,000, a total of 19.2 per cent had illegal tread depths.