RESIDENTS fed up with drivers using their unmade street as a rat run have joined forces to stop the problem.

For years, cars, taxis and even lorries have been using Back Station Road in Cross Hills as a short cut but residents say enough is enough.

They are planning to erect bollards at one end of their private street - which runs parallel to busy Station Road - to prevent through traffic and improve the quality of their lives.

They fear that if the problem is allowed to continue a child could be badly hurt.

Spearheading the campaign is resident Paul Taylor, who has lived in the area for 12 years.

"The problem has got worse over the last five or six years," he explained. "There are now about 20 to 25 cars that use our street daily to avoid queuing on Station Road."

The situation is at its worst during the early evening as cars wait to negotiate the busy junction of Station Road and Main Street. There are lesser problems during the morning rush hour.

Mr Taylor said: "There are 51 properties down here and lots of children. Car drivers don't see the kids playing. There are only two street lamps and in dry conditions duststorms are created.

"We are concerned someone could be injured."

He added that the dust thrown up by rat-running vehicles also meant residents couldn't hang out their washing or leave their windows open on a hot day.

Last year North Yorkshire County Council put forward plans to adopt Back Station Road, which would have allowed it to introduce traffic calming measures.

However the scheme fell through because residents would have had to pay for the street to be surfaced and the costs were prohibitive.

That meant they had to find another solution to the problem. They feel the proposed bollards are a good compromise as they will stop through traffic while still allowing essential access.

Mr Taylor said the initial feedback from residents had been very positive and the council had also given its support.

"Because it is a private street, we can do more or less what we like. All we have to do is to put a public notice in the paper and consult the parish council."

It is not known how much the scheme will cost, but it will have to be met by residents

"We are having to do it privately because it is a private road," said parish councillor and local resident Jenny Wood.

However she said she would be investigating whether there were any grants available.

Businessman Roger Hanson, whose furnishing shop is at the corner of Back Station Road, has also supported the scheme.

He told the Herald: "From my door, I can see the speed at which cars spin into Back Station Road, and I think an accident will happen. It is becoming a rat run.

"It has been an issue for a lot of years, but Station Road is getting busier and busier. I think a lot of people go down there to see if there is a shortcut so they can avoid the queues. They travel at speed because they are in a rush."