Contractors are being urged NOT to bid to build National Grid's controversial pylons line through the Vale of York.

Adverts are being placed in newspapers and the trade press by anti-pylons protesters REVOLT inviting contractors not to tender for the work.

The notices highlight the problems in store for engineers who take on the job.

A main thorn, says REVOLT, will be the widespread opposition of the local community and lack of co-operation with workmen building the high-voltage power line from Shipton by Beningbrough, near York, to Cleveland.

And the notices warn contractors they could incur huge security costs if they take on the work. REVOLT spokesman Mike O'Carroll said: "These notices are to reinforce the message the whole of the community is against these pylons and contractors need to know they face inconvenience and potential additional costs because they are going against the whole local community and will not get their co-operation."

Professor O'Carroll said REVOLT's policy was to offer maximum resistance within the law. He said he was delighted the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Selby had spoken out against the pylons.

As revealed exclusively in the Evening Press, the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, is concerned about the visual impact of the line on the Vale of York and wants the scheme reviewed and preferably put underground.

The Bishop of Selby, the Right Reverend Humphrey Taylor, fears the 50-mile power line might help bring about the demise of the Selby coalfield.

He said protesters were pleased to win support across the spectrum. "From the mining fraternity to the higher echelons of the Church of England - it's quite a span," he said.

Protesters are also highlighting the health risks they believe stem from electromagnetic fields.

A spokesman for the National Grid said the advice from the National Radiological Protection Board was that there was no conclusive research showing electro-magnetic fields were dangerous.

He added the company spent millions of pounds sponsoring research into EMFs and any potential risks associated with them as a precautionary measure.

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