TRAFFIC calming humps and a 20mph zone could be the only answer to safety concerns at an accident blackspot in North Yorkshire.

Bedale Town Council said the highway’s authority must put pedestrians first as it looks at what can be done to improve a junction that people living in the town say is the most dangerous in the Hambleton district.

There have been two accidents at the junction with Firby Road, Sussex Street and Masham Road in the past five weeks, including a fatality involving an elderly man on a mobility scooter.

Bedale resident Pat Lawson told councillors: “I have lived on that corner since 1963 and I have never seen anything as serious as the last two incidents.

“You need a 20mph zone and speed bumps.”

Councillor John Noone said: “One of the main issues is the speed of traffic on Masham Road. The problem is the roads were never built for the traffic that is using them and you can’t knock down houses.

We should be looking at a 20mph zone.”

Wanda Reynolds, who also lives in Bedale, said: “The major concern is the pedestrians – you have got school children crossing twice a day and elderly people. The county council needs to be looking at how people can get across that road.”

Highway officers told the town council they were carrying out an investigation following the fatal accident.

Mayor Amanda Coates said: “People should bombard highways staff with emails. We will tell them they must look at that junction for traffic calming and pedestrian safety.”