RESIDENTS in a country village are divided over proposals for a new children's playing field.

People living in East Heslerton, near Malton, are split over plans put forward by the parish council to site the facility on Carr Lane.

Parents in the village, which is alongside the A64 Malton to Scarborough road, say they are desperately in need of a safe haven for their children to play.

But residents next to the proposed site claim their lives would be made a misery by increased noise levels.

Joan Appleby, whose home is less than 30 yards from the field, said: "Everyone knows how much noise children make when they start playing, and if you get 20 or more together in that field it will be unbearable."

Patricia Stead, whose two grandchildren live in the village, said: "Everyone's peace and privacy is going to be destroyed. Would you want to sit in the garden trying to relax with all of that?"

But mother Anne Leckenby, whose two children are 13 and 15, said: "I think people who are against the idea have got some good reasons, but I think we really need somewhere for the children to be able to play safely in."

Heslerton Parish Council, which represents the village, has applied to Ryedale District Council for the change of use from agricultural land to a children's playing field.

The application is due to go before the central area planning committee in the coming weeks.