PAUL REAVLEY, 37, an independent member of Scarborough Council, representing the Eastfield Ward, has been disqualified from membership because of lack of attendance at meetings.

He said: "I am self-employed and found myself working out of town a great deal. My wife and two children have got to come first. I have got to work to pay the mortgage."

BRIDGE DELAYS: Highways bosses have warned that East and West Ayton, on the A170 Scarborough to Thirsk road, face traffic disruption as a £180,000 repair project for the Grade II-listed stone bridge across the River Derwent gets under way. Work starts next Monday and is expected to last 12 weeks.

NEW STATION: Bedale firefighters are expected to move into their new station in Wycar - which will be shared with police - early next month. A garage behind Bedale Hall has been their temporary home while the £440,000 station has been built on the site of the former station.

GIVE BLOOD: Blood donor sessions will be held in Pickering next Monday, between 2pm and 7.30pm, in the recreation club, in Mill Lane, and on Tuesday, February 4, at the Milton Rooms, Malton, from 2pm to 7.30pm.

BISHOP RETIRES: The Bishop of Selby, the Right Reverend Humphrey Taylor, is to retire on March 5, after 12 years in office. He and his wife, Anne, plan to retire to the Vale of Evesham, on the edge of the Cotswolds.

CYCLE DATE: The Wensleydale Wheelers' Cycling Club is to celebrate its 70th anniversary at its annual dinner and prize presentation on February 15, at Leeming Lodge.

POLICE ROLE: The Reverend Christopher Roy Huggett, the vicar of Leyburn and Bellerby, has been appointed voluntary police chaplain in the area.

CRIME AWARD: The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet, at York, has won a Secured Car-Parking award. It recognises efforts to create a safe environment.