ALMOST two in every five motorbikes stopped by police over the weekend were found to be defective.

North Yorkshire Police carried out an operation on the A65 Settle bypass to monitor the state of motorcycles in the region.

They found that 38 per cent of the 86 vehicles they stopped were faulty.

Two were banned from the road immediately, six others were given delayed prohibition notices, and seven received defect notices to get the bikes repaired.

Eleven were prosecuted for exhaust offences, and five for licence plate faults.

There were also several reported for speeding, with a top speed of 96mph, and several other minor offences.

Two cars and two vans were also stopped for speeding.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "This obviously gives cause for concern, and these operations are to continue throughout the summer."

Updated: 13:56 Monday, July 14, 2003