SAFETY measures will help keep traffic moving on one of the steepest roads in England, road bosses have pledged.

Last year 520 lorries ground to a halt on the treacherous A170 at Sutton Bank - and 120 of those needed police help to get away.

Fed-up officials from North Yorkshire County Council have now launched a new campaign to tackle the problem.

The A170 from Thirsk to Scarborough, on the edge of the North York Moors, is notorious for being one of the steepest A roads in the country. Three sections rise at 25 per cent, or one-in-four - as steep as the infamous Porlock Hill in Somerset.

The county council has now joined forces with North Yorkshire Police and the Freight Transport Association to co-ordinate a campaign to alert HGV drivers and other motorists to the danger.

New signs have already been installed, and an anti-skid surface has been laid on the most difficult section of the bank - a steep hairpin corner. Trials being carried out to find out how effective the new surface is, with a view to installing more stretches of it along the road.

Meanwhile, 4,000 leaflets and posters will be distributed to road hauliers and truckstops throughout Britain to highlight the problem. Future phases of the campaign could see electronic signs which would only be activated by lorries, and variable message signing to divert traffic when necessary.

County councillor Peter Sowray, executive member for highways, said: "The problem with Sutton Bank, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the road, is that drivers can be misled into thinking they're over the worst', because the gradient varies from one section of the road to the next.

"They engage too high a gear, too soon, and then find themselves stuck, with no way of moving any further forward.

"We need to get the message across that Sutton Bank is one of the steepest trunk roads anywhere in England, and that using it requires considerable care."