ROADS in and around Swainby should be resurfaced to reduce the hazard they are causing, say local people.

They have handed in a 48-signature petition to North Yorkshire County Council to highlight the dangers and plead for the road to be resurfaced.

The road from Swainby to Whorlton has been noted as being in need of particular attention, as riders from the Crossbank Riding School have found their horses slip-over on the surface; one person has broken an arm.

However, in a report to councillors next week, divisional engineer Mike Roberts is expected to say that as the road is not among the worst in the county it is not a priority,.

The road has been added to the list for resurfacing work in the 2004-5 financial year, and signs have been erected warning road users of the potential hazard.

The owner of the riding school, Angela Nelson, said her horses had been shod with special shoes with big studs in them for better grip.

"If we had not done that, the horses just could not stand up. People have slipped over on their horses and one person broke their arm - it is dangerous.

"The roads have not been mended for years, and when they have been it has not been done properly, so the following year they're even worse.

"We have been ringing the council for five years. It is a danger. I have 20 or 30 horses here, some are in livery, others are my own for the riding school, and people come and want to take their horses out.

"But it's got frightening really, people hardly dare take the horses out. The road is so smooth, it's like glass. It's dangerous, not just for horses, but cars as well - it never used to be like this."

David Bowe, highways maintenance manager for the council, said they accepted the road was not in an ideal condition, but elsewhere the roads were worse.

"It certainly does not, at this immediate moment, pose a threat to the public. With the limited resource we have, we have to direct the funding to those areas in greatest need."

Mr Bowe said the council had received hundreds of complaints from riders about horses slipping in different parts of the county: "Horses are walking on metal carriageways on steel shoes. The highways authority has a requirement to provide a level of skid resistance, which we endeavour to do."

He added: "This road will be added to the 2004-05 surface dressing programme and once that work is done, it will increase the skid resistance."

The resurfacing work is expected to cost in the region of £10,000