EXTRA police patrols could take place on North Yorkshire's roads over bank holidays and weekends as part of a scheme to reduce the number of motorcyclists killed in the county.

North Yorkshire County Council is hoping to buy in extra police services over these peak motorcycling periods to highlight the dangers on the roads and encourage more careful riding.

So far this year 17 people have been killed in motorcycling accidents in North Yorkshire.

A council spokesman said that 12 environmental targets had been set as part of a local public service agreement, including reducing the number of motorcycle deaths.

Extra money has already been given to the council by central Government to enable it to reach its targets, and if six of the 12 targets are met during the three-year plan a further £1 million in extra funding would be made available.

The spokesman said that the motorcycling target was the council's priority.

He said: "We've set 12 targets on a variety of subjects.

"One of them is reducing the number of deaths from motorcycle accidents.

"If we meet 50 per cent of the targets, ie six out of the 12, we get extra money from the Government.

"One of these revolves around a pump-priming exercise to get more police on patrol, particularly at Bank Holidays and weekends to alert motorcyclists about their riding and hopefully reduce the number of accidents."

The money is likely to be spent on overtime payments rather than recruiting extra officers.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the scheme was in its infancy.

He said: "It is very early days, but we have been talking to the council.

"If they provide the money for rest-day working, then in principle we would be willing to do it because we are committed to reducing the awful toll of casualties among motorcyclists.

"But the details have yet to be worked out."

Other ideas included in the 12-point plan include targeting the "school run" to ensure that all children are wearing seat belts in cars.

Updated: 10:14 Wednesday, July 30, 2003