YORK'S infamous rising bollard, which damaged five vehicles in its first two weeks of operation, was switched back on today.

Council engineers decided the system was working - the problem was simply bad driving.

And some of the motorists whose vehicles collided with the city centre bollard last month are being billed by City of York Council for damage to the device.

The traffic obstacle in Stonebow was de-activated off last month following five accidents in which it was struck.

It was introduced in October to stop vehicles "rat-running" illegally from the Stonebow roundabout towards Pavement and Piccadilly during the day.

Sensors and cameras were installed so that taxis, buses and emergency vehicle could continue driving through, while the bollard would rise to prevent unauthorised vehicles.

But several motorists hit the bollard, with some claiming that warning signs were not clear enough, or that they had been following a bus and could not see where the bollard was.

The device was switched off just a fortnight after it was introduced while experts studied video footage of the accidents. The council said it wanted to be sure it understood why people were colliding with the bollard.

Now Peter Evely, head of highway regulation, says: "When we looked at the video footage, it was clear that the system was working. Broadly speaking, the problem was related to driver behaviour."

And he reiterated the council's determination to tackle the problem of congestion and pedestrian accidents in the area.

"The removal of vehicles in this area will improve the environment for pedestrians in the run-up to the busy Christmas period."

He said that during trials of the bollard last week, there were indications that people were now using suggested alternative routes.

He said the 15 warning signs on the approach to the bollard would remain, as would a flashing light at the entry point.

Authority staff will be on site all week to monitor traffic, in addition to continuing video surveillance.

Adjustments have been made to the system to help authorised vehicles get through, in particular to assist where two authorised vehicles go through in quick succession.

Bill Woolley, Assistant Director (Development and Transportation), said motorists whose vehicles had damaged the bollard were being sent a bill to pass on to their insurers, as any driver would who had damaged street furniture.

The bollard operates between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday.