POLICE have called for heavy lorries to be banned from Otley town centre.

After carrying out four checks on separate days, they have concluded that the majority of HGVs are using the route through the town because it is quicker.

Last month angry residents called for heavy quarry vehicles to be stopped from using Otley as a short cut.

Representatives from Leeds City Council's transport planning department said they were looking at a number of options, including a lorry ban, but wanted to give quarry operator Hanson time to come up with its own solution.

They told the meeting that an answer was expected by the end of May and this week extended it to give the company more time.

But on Monday, at the Aireborough, Horsforth and Otley Police Forum meeting, held at Otley Civic Centre, PC Colin Wiggins, of the Weetwood Road Traffic Department, said a lorry ban was the only answer to HGVs using the town as a short cut.

Following the meeting, PC Wiggins said: "The town centre roads are not designed for the volume of HGVs going through. When we spoke to the drivers they told us it was the quickest way for them because there was only one set of lights."

PC Wiggins said clearly from the operators' point of view, time was money and the quickest route would be the best route.

He added they were working with Leeds City Council with the aim of pushing the HGVs back onto the A65 and the A61.

"The only way to do it is to introduce legislation and that would mean weight restrictions on every road coming into Otley."

Of the 32 vehicles stopped during the four days, the police discovered 22 offences - including some lorries carrying too much weight and some drivers working excessive hours.

Last month at a packed meeting at Otley Civic Centre, representatives from Leeds City Council's transport planning department said they were looking at various different options to cut down on the number of heavy vehicles going through the town.

But they said before they looked at options, including a possible lorry ban, they had invited quarry operator Hanson at Pateley Bridge to come up with its own solutions.

Phil Coyne, chairman of Safety on Otley's Roads (SOOR) said: "It is extremely disappointing. It is not a complex issue, we just want them to stop lorries driving through Otley."

A spokesman for Leeds City Council said: "We have decided to give the quarry operator Hanson's more time to come up with a method of reducing the flow of their vehicles through Otley.

"We feel that the right approach to this issue is to work in partnership with the quarry operator to find a solution."

l PC Colin Wiggins can be contacted at Weetwood Road Traffic on (0113) 2413446.