NORTH Yorkshire County Council is urging people to abandon their cars and walk or cycle to work and school.

Geoff Gardner, the authority's travel awareness officer, said in a report to councillors that there was particular concern about the long-term health of children.

He said: "North Yorkshire has the lowest levels of walking to school in the region.

"Although understandable, this is not desirable and some estimate that highly inactive children could be outlived by their parents."

The average North Yorkshire resident makes 1,000 car trips each year.

Mr Gardner said: "The 15-mile work trip to a business park may be car dependent, but the half-mile to collect the Sunday papers is not."

He said that many journeys were made because people needed access to goods and services.

He said: "Keeping a local post office open or encouraging parents to use a local school will make more difference to the traffic on our roads than the type of bus service operated."

Other ways of reducing traffic journeys are for GPs to hold surgeries in villages and for a consultant to visit community hospitals instead of large numbers of patients having to travel to larger hospitals.

Mr Gardner said: "Buses are more reliable, cycling is safer and walking is quicker than is commonly thought.

"If every resident in North Yorkshire could include ten minutes'extra walking a day into their lives then we would, without doubt, all be better off."

However, he warned people against walking on dangerous country roads that have no footpaths.