TWO councils will meet to thrash out new safety measures to prevent drivers venturing on to a river ford in flood conditions.

It seems public opinion in Stanhope, County Durham, will save the ford from closure, despite a series of potential tragedies.

Three times over the past year, drivers and passengers have been rescued from the raging River Wear, costing taxpayers thousands of pounds and risking rescuers' lives.

In the latest incident on Sunday afternoon, Great North Air Ambulance paramedic Kevin Hodgson, from Bishop Auckland, was lowered on to the roof of an Audi to pull the driver through the window of his stranded car.

Emergency services say they are at a loss to understand why motorists ignore clear warning signs and venture into the torrent rather than use a bridge a few hundred yards upstream.

Police said yesterday they would prosecute drivers who disregard the warning signs.

Durham County Council said it would consider installing gates and other measures such as automatically operated sirens and warning lights.

Stanhope Parish Council chairman Harry Irwin said residents did not want to lose the ford, which attracts tourists, and would like to see barriers controlled automatically by sensors in the river.

He criticised the use of helicopters in Sunday's rescue and another last January.

Councillor Irwin, a former firefighter, said: "The car was close enough to the bank to be reached by a ladder. The water was not deep. You could see the number plate.

"There was no need for a helicopter with a paramedic, who was left on the top of the car without a safety harness.

"These rescues are over the top and are becoming a joke with locals. The cost of bringing in a helicopter or an air ambulance is astronomical."

But Mr Hodgson said last night: "We discussed it with fire and rescue services on the scene and we decided it was the quickest course of action.

"We had concerns that this car was going to be washed down the river. We felt it was the right course of action and it worked perfectly well."