A BITTER war of words over quarrying near a prehistoric complex of international importance has moved up a gear.

Two petitions have demanded an end to such quarrying following the submission of a planning application to extend the works.

But opponents of the scheme, close to the 5,500-year-old Thornborough Hen-ges, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, have been accused of spreading misinformation by quarry operator Tarmac.

One of the petitions was created online at friendsof thornborough.org.uk and contained almost 5,500 signatures collected worldwide.

The second is a paper petition signed by more than 2,000 locals and the entire archaeology department of Nottinghamshire County Council.

Friends chairman John Lowry said: "The voice of both local people and international opinion is clear and unequivocal, and no amount of weasel words by Tarmac can change that fact.

"Such unprecedented public opinion cannot be ignored by our elected councillors, who must now prove they have changed their attitude to heritage preservation by voting to reject Tarmac's application to extend its present quarry on to Ladybridge Farm.

"As long as this mining company retains ownership of Thornborough Moor and its gravel deposits, the spotlight of concerned world opinion will remain focused on North Yorkshire."

But Tarmac estates manager Bob Nicholson said: "Much of the opposition to our planning application has been generated through the spreading of misinformation.

"One only has to look at the Friends of Thornborough website to see this, as it describes areas of Thornborough Moor adjacent to the henges as 'proposed quarry' when the application site is actually at Ladybridge Farm, more than half a mile away from the nearest henge.

"The henges and the area around them are already scheduled protected monuments.

"There is absolutely no plan to quarry the henges, and the planning application is not for Thornborough Moor -the area around the henges.

"Our application seeks to continue a long-established existing sand and gravel quarry operating under archaeological monitoring on an area of agricultural land, where an extensive professional archaeological survey has found only limited evidence of mesolithic and neolithic artefacts such as flint arrowheads, which can be preserved by record and conserved for further study.

"Friends of Thornborough are also incorrect in their assertion that we own the sand and gravel under Thornborough Moor. This is not the case. We own the surface, but not the mineral deposit that lies beneath."