SPECIALIST teams of police officers will be patrolling North Yorkshire's roads over the Bank Holiday weekend in a bid to save lives.

Operation Victory is aimed at reducing the toll of motorcycle road deaths in the county.

So far this year, 20 riders have died.

The number is the highest since 1994 and follows an explosion in the number of sales of high-powered motorbikes.

Over the weekend, extra officers will be patrolling the moorland and seaside roads that have accounted for half of this year's deaths - and similar operations are planned for other weekends.

They plan to rigorously enforce the rules of the road by having high visibility patrols operating in many areas..

"We want residents to know that we are out there protecting the peace of their communities, and we want drivers and riders to be aware that there are plenty of us looking out for speeding and anti-social behaviour," said traffic sergeant John Clayton.

"We also now that having brightly-marked police cars and bikes on the roads does act as a prompt for safe driving."

Operation Victory is just one of a number of campaigns being launched to reduce the motorbike death toll in the county.

Police met safety experts, local government officials and others at a conference called in Northallerton yesterday to address the problem.

Hambleton community safety officer Chris Fields said that with the deaths reaching an all-time high they had to find ways of addressing the problem.

"These deaths do not just involve local people but visitors too, and they often involve speed," she said.

"We want to look creatively at how we can address accident reduction to motorcyclists."

Police were also meeting motorcycle campaigners at a meeting yesterday in Sherburn-in-Elmet, the village near Tadcaster where bikers regularly gather.

Superintendent David Short said: "All the agencies and rider groups are doing their bit to improve road safety - but ultimately it rests on the individuals themselves to take more responsibility."