Police dismay at weekend speeders

A SENIOR police officer has spoken of his dismay in the wake of a Bank Holiday weekend of carnage on North Yorkshire's roads.

Despite the efforts of officers engaged on Operation Helical, the force's tough-line road safety initiative, two motorcyclists were killed, another four were seriously injured and a pedestrian was knocked down and seriously hurt in separate incidents spread across the county.

North Yorkshire's Deputy Chief Constable, Adam Briggs, said: "The Bank Holiday weekend has been marred by the number of casualties on our roads. Two people have lost their lives and several others are seriously injured, bringing grief and tragedy to themselves and their loved ones.

"We will continue with our tough road safety enforcement campaign, but drivers and riders must take responsibility for their actions if these appalling statistics are to be reversed."

The county's Road Policing officers spent more than 300 hours on the county's roads on Saturday and Sunday and in total stopped well over 400 vehicles.

75 fixed penalty tickets were issued for speeding and another 28 reported for summons, three of whom were fast-tracked for exceeding the limit by more than 30mph.

33 fixed penalties were issued for seat belt offences, and 11 vehicles were seized because the driver was uninsured or did not have a driving licence.