POLICE and national park officials last night dismissed claims that the Yorkshire Dales have become a haven for terrorists.

North Yorkshire Police and the Yorkshire Dales National Park said there was no evidence that indoctrination camps were being held in the area.

The comments follow controversial remarks by the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police, Colin Cramphorn, that the park was being used for brain-washing sessions by Muslim fanatics.

Mr Cramphorn, who has extensive experience of dealing with terrorism, spoke out after it was revealed two of the July 7 bombers had gone on a white-water rafting weekend in Wales.

The police chief allegedly told a national magazine: "They're actually pure indoctrination camps.

"It's much more than just a few white-water rafting trips in Wales, such as the bombers took.

"Wherever there is a national park, you'll find them - the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District, the West Highlands."

But the chief executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, David Butterworth, said there was nothing to support the claims.

Mr Butterworth said: "We have no evidence of this taking place in the national park.

"If the chief constable says it is happening, then I suggest if it is illegal that he needs to do something about it.

"If it is not illegal then it is an issue for the Government.

"As 99 per cent of the national park is in the hands of private ownership, we would not necessarily know if something like this was happening."

The park is mostly owned by farmers, private landowners and the National Trust, and covers 1762sq km from Richmondshire to South Lakeland, covering an extensive part of North Yorkshire.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the force paid close attention to activities linked to terrorism.

A spokesman said: "We have received no reports of such training camps in the county."

West Yorkshire Police played down the comments.

A spokeswoman said last night: "The Chief Constable was using national parks as an analogy. He was not talking about camps as physical locations but as places where people may go to meet to discuss their ideas."