Star Trek captain joins anti-bike battle

Star Trek captain Patrick Stewart, former Tory leader William Hague and cricket legend Geoff Boycott are among an array of famous names who have signed up to support action against motorcyclists riding the roads of North York Moors National Park.

Pressure group BAND (Blisdale Against Noise and Danger) is calling for a maximum of 50mph on all roads within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, more traffic police on the B1257 AND speed cameras on the same stretch. They also want a clampdown on ” illegal noise pollution by motorbikes within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, ” and say they have the support of Hague, Stewart, Boycott, Brian Blessed, Bernard Ingham and others.

Chairman of BAND, Ken Braithwaite said: ” Anyone who knows the area cannot fail to be horrified by the sheer noise and frightening carnage inflicted on its roads every summer by the madness of literally hundreds of speeding bikers. ”

BAND is pressing for specific speed restrictions on a 15-mile stretch of the B1257 between Helmsley and Stokesley, near Middlesbrough.

” This is the route known as the ‘Yorkshire TT’. It is the route where speed records are set, to be recorded and boasted about on biker web sites. And these are the same biker web sites that reassure their readers about the minimal police

presence on the road. We want a 50 mph limit set, and we want it enforced. ”

They also want fewer lorries allowed on the park’s roads.

Is BAND over-reacting or have motorcyclists got a case to answer about the way we use this road? Post your views on our bulletin boards.