THE AA last night pledged to change its computer route navigation software after complaints that drivers were doing untold damage to a listed bridge.

Blakey Bridge, near Sowerby, North Yorkshire, has been closed for a month after being damaged by a vehicle.

Although the local authority has paid £30,000 out in repairs over the past 15 years, officials are convinced satellite navigation systems are making the problem much worse.

They believe the software cannot differentiate between a mud track and a motorway - with the result that large vehicles are sent down unsuitable roads.

Eddy Hayward, North Yorkshire County Council area manager for Hambleton district, said: "If drivers have been told by sat-nav it's a short route, they will go without realising they will encounter a very narrow bridge and a nasty bend."

One solution could be to make Blakey Lane one way leading from Sowerby, so lorries from the A19 would not use the bridge.

"Maybe it's something we could look into," said Mr Hayward.

Councillors complained after finding that the AA's Routes in Britain Route Planner website sends vehicles over the bridge.

Councillor Gareth Dadd said: "I shall be telling county officers of this problem and asking them to inform the route operators to delete the route off their system."

David Arnold, the AA's geographic information databases manager, said: "I will ensure that an appropriate warning is placed within our route text. At the same time, I will slow down the speeds allocated to the bridge to encourage most users to steer clear of it."