WORK will start next month on a new initiative designed to save the lives of sheep that wander on the North York Moors.

New road signs are to be installed to ensure the animals can graze safely and help avoid road accidents.

The solar-powered vehicle-activated signs will be erected along the C20 between Hutton-le-Hole and Castleton, following numerous instances in past years of vehicles colliding with sheep on the remote moorland road.

The six signs are being installed by North Yorkshire County Council, with the agreement and help of the North York Moors National Park and will flash a warning whenever motorists approach them.

"There are two serious issues here which these signs are intended to address," said the authority’s corporate director of environmental services, Richard Flinton.

"There is obviously an economic issue for farmers who lose livestock in road accidents, and there is the serious possibility that collisions can lead to injury or death for motorists or walkers caught up in them."

The signs will be placed on the road during the summer months, when experience has shown that most accidents occur.

"The major difficulties arise between May and September, when there are young sheep on the moors," said area highways manager Richard Marr.

"By the time they are fully grown, sheep have developed an awareness of traffic. But in the early months of their lives, they often tend to wander into the path of oncoming motorists."