VILLAGE stores in North Yorkshire are suffering because of a lack of control on mobile tuck shops, a county councillor has said.

It has emerged that North Yorkshire County Council has no specific policy for dealing with food vans setting up on roadsides near villages.

Conservative councillor Cliff Trotter has called for some form of restrictions on the mobile outlets after fears village shops could be at risk

Coun Trotter said that in one case, a village shop saw its food trade drop by half after a mobile food outlet was set up just outside the village.

The issue was raised at a meeting of county councillors in Harrogate following complaints from shop owners.

Coun Trotter said he was surprised there was no policy to licence or control the shops.

He believed it was an issue that affected the whole county, where he said there were now more than 2,000 vehicles selling food and refreshments.

Coun Trotter said: "People who run village shops believe they are at a disadvantage.

"The established shop owners have to pay a business rate and other overheads but the county council has no policy to control what is a growing issue about food vans.

"Because they do not have the overheads of established shops, mobile tuck shops can undercut the local shops.

"These shops are vital to villages because of the other services they provide long after the mobile shop has come and gone."

Coun Trotter called on the county council to investigate some form of control over the growing number the mobile outlets.

Committee members agreed that county council officials would liaise with Harrogate Borough Council to see if some control could be exercised through the planning process.

The outcome will be reported at the next area committee meeting.

A spokeswoman for the county council said: "There is no formal policy, however such facilities are obstructions and their removal can be pursued.

"Generally, the highways authority tolerates their presence, but if we get complaints and we and the police believe that a highway safety issue exists, then their removal would be pursued."