Fuel protesters planning to mount a North-to-South protest convoy are to ignore a police plea to steer clear of flood-hit North Yorkshire.

With the county's police completely tied up dealing with the flood situation, the North Yorkshire force's top brass fear the convoy could plunge its flood-swamped communities into even greater chaos.

They fear people or their homes could be at risk if officers have to be diverted from flood-hit areas to deal with the convoy, which is expected to bring hundreds of trucks to the county's roads.

The fuel protesters have said they will not heed the police plea but plan to help with the flood situation by pulling into York on Friday night laden with sand, sandbags and other aid.

North Yorkshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Peter Walker said: "With large areas of the county under water, every available officer we have is engaged in dealing with the problems of flooding."

The Jarrow to London convoy is expected to set off on Friday and is due to call at York, Leeds and Birmingham before arriving in London on Tuesday next week. Organiser believe it will involve thousands of vehicles by the time it reaches the capital.

Priority projects to rescue a North Yorkshire transport system "close to breaking point" were demanded from the Government this morning at the Confederation of British Industry's national conference in Birmingham.