VILLAGERS yesterday said they had been waiting for an accident to happen after an articulated lorry toppled over and blocked a village for several hours.

The accident took place at 7.30am in Newton-le-Willows, near Bedale, as the 40ft lorry was delivering a full load of paving flags to a stone yard just outside the village.

The lorry toppled on to its side, scattering its load, as it emerged from a minor road known as Sinks Lane to turn left at a tight T-junction with a steep adverse camber leading to the road through the village. No one was hurt, but the incident sparked fresh concerns among villagers about lorries thought to be taking short cuts along minor roads, described by one resident as unsuitable.

Pallets and large stone slabs from the overturned lorry were strewn across the road, which was closed except for local access from its junction with the A684 between Bedale and Leyburn.

By noon, about half the flags had been cleared and taken to their destination by other vehicles, while a team stood by to remove the lorry.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "This was a huge articulated lorry that tipped its entire load, blocking the back road behind the village. This delivery of vast loads on articulated lorries has been going on for a couple of years and people have just been waiting for this sort of accident to occur.

"It is fortunate that no one, including the driver, has been hurt, but it is utterly crazy for lorries like this to be using unsuitable country roads.

"I do not know how the driver thought he could have got around a corner like that.

"While such big lorries are using minor roads, they have been damaging verges, which I gather have had to be repaired by the highways department."

No one was available to comment yesterday at Prices Paving and Tile, where the load was intended for, or the parish council, which is understood to have expressed concern about lorry traffic.

In 1997, North Yorkshire County Council placed a temporary ten-tonne weight restriction on a hump-backed bridge on the main road into the village after cracks were found in it.

An alternative route through the village is under a railway bridge with a maximum clearance of 13ft.