HIGHWAYS chiefs have taken steps to stop motorists being directed into danger by satellite navigation systems.

A sign has been put up warning drivers that a remote hillside track on the edge of a 100ft cliff is not suitable for vehicles.

The Northern Echo revealed last year how sat-nav systems were sending motorists along the narrow lane near the hamlet of Crackpot, in the Yorkshire Dales.

Since then, motorists have continued to tackle the track, despite national media coverage about the issue and pledges by sat-nav companies to remove the route from their systems.

Local residents and community leaders hope the sign will encourage motorists to turn back.

Carol Porter farms with her husband, Steven, at Summer Lodge, where the tarmac runs out and the road turns to gravel.

She said early indications were that the sign was working.

She said: "They are still coming up, but they are stopping at the gate now. The track was supposed to be taken off the satellite navigation systems, but obviously it hasn't off all of them."

Councillor Harold Brown, the chairman of Grinton Parish Council, which reported the issue to North Yorkshire County Council, is less optimistic.

He said: "They do not look at signs. They just look down at their dashboard and listen to what they are being told - it might not make a difference."

County councillor John Blackie is also concerned that the sign will not be enough.

He said: "Whilst most will obey the sign, there is going to be the odd adventurous idiot who will not."

The lane from Crackpot meets the road over the moors to Askrigg, in Wensleydale.

The track is only passable in a 4x4.

The in-car systems have led cars, minibuses and delivery wagons along the track

Some have been rescued by farmers after becoming stuck when trying to reverse. A handful of vehicles have ended up with one wheel over the edge.