Images of giant black coffins today appeared at the side of a busy North Yorkshire road as villagers launched a campaign to close "Death Hill."

Angry residents of Thormanby, near Easingwold, are urging the Government to divert the busy A19, which dissects their village, by building a bypass.

The seven-foot banners, each showing a haunting image of a casket, will serve to alert passing motorists to the four road deaths which the village has suffered in the past three years alone.

Resident Stephen Suart said: "Although there have been only four deaths in that time, the number of near misses is quite incredible.

"I've got photographs of children walking along the narrow pavements while HGVs hurtle within inches of them at 60mph.

"We've been told by the Highways Agency that traffic calming hasn't worked, and a bypass seems the only solution."

Government plans to spend £130 billion on roads, including bypasses, were announced in March this year.

Thormanby Parish Council chairman Barry Dodd said: "The villagers of Thormanby are determined that their village will be included in that programme."

The campaign has gained the backing of Conservative MP Ann McIntosh, Mike Masterman of North Yorkshire County Council and Mark Schofield, the route manager of the Highways Agency.

In March this year, fire-fighter Steve Crouchman called for safety improvements after he was involved in freeing a dead woman from the wreckage of her car following a crash at the site.

The bypass was first proposed in 1939 , but was forgotten after the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1994 it was approved and surveys were carried out, but it was postponed when Government policy turned against further road building.

The villagers claim dangers are posed by a steep hill which is followed by a blind bend, and a gradual climb on the other end of the village, which also ends in a blind bend.

They said the road and pavements were too narrow, with roadside properties being too close to passing traffic.

Coun Dodd said: "The hill at both ends of the village encourages vehicles, particularly HGV's who engage a lower gear, to accelerate. This renders the negotiation of the blind bend at the top of the hill very dangerous.

"Millions of pounds have been found to improve and straighten out the A19 between Shipton and Thormanby, the York Ring Road and numerous roundabout improvements.

"All these improvements have speeded up the flow of traffic and made the case for the bypass at Thormanby stronger than ever."

The campaign is supported by a petition signed by nearly 70 villagers.

Mr Suart said: "My wife and I have lived in the village for three years. During that time our boundary wall has been demolished twice. "On both occasions, it is a miracle no-one was killed. If the collisions had occurred at a time when schoolchildren were walking home, there would have been multiple fatalities."The A19 is also credited with destroying the community by splitting it in two, and dividing both sides with fast traffic.

This weekend, the last pint was pulled in the Black Bull Inn, which has closed despite a campaign by villagers to keep it open.

Coun Dodd said: "Many believe that the busy A19 trunk road, which dissects the village, was a major factor in the pub closure."

adam.nichols@ycp.co.uk