CIVIC leaders are seeking urgent talks over what they claim is a poor standard of street cleaning in their market town.

Bedale Town Council wants a site meeting with a senior representative of Hambleton District Council, the authority responsible.

The matter was top of the agenda at the latest town council meeting.

The problem is said to centre around the efficiency of a mechanical sweeper which the district council sends into the town two days a week.

Councillor John Weighell said: "Rather than talk around this subject now we should line up a meeting with Hambleton, and we should not settle for some minor official. It needs to be someone at the top of the ladder."

Mayor Ray Calvert, said it was essential for the situation to improve, as there were eyesores at the Bridge Street car park, on a footpath leading to Bedale Hall and with loose cobblestones outside shops.

However, the district authority says it is doing its bit to revive the fortunes of the town. The council has recently joined the Yorkshire Dales Promotions Initiative - which brings together tourism and national park chiefs - and will be seeking to encourage more people to the area.

Council leader, June Imeson, said: "This initiative will not only give Bedale and the surrounding area a higher tourism profile, but will have a spin-off effect for the whole of Hambleton."

Both the town and district councils are now trying to arrange a convenient time to discuss the street cleaning issues.