CALLS have been made for areas of the North York Moors National Park to be made off limits to trucks and bikes following complaints of the land being damaged by the vehicles.

Off-road 4x4 drivers and motorcyclists have caused damage of ruts which are more than a foot deep in areas across the park making them unusable for walkers and for horse riders who want to use the green lanes.

Resident in the park, Clive Proctor, of Troutsdale near Snainton said that the problem has been ongoing since about 2006 and has called for more to be done to protect the park.

He said: “Ideally I would like to see the green lanes downgraded to footpaths and bridleways so that off-roaders cannot use them.

“I know that because it is such a big area it is hard for park rangers to deal with it but people are coming in 4x4s from Leeds, Hull, Sheffield and even abroad. We have scramble bikes coming in big groups of half a dozen or eight people who are all doing exactly the same thing.

“I have lived here for 25 years and I would say that within two to three years the green lanes have been completely destroyed.”

The National Park is widely used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders as well as the emergency services such as the Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team.

The rescue team often has to walk along these tracks to get to casualties and carry them back to the ambulance.

A spokesman for the team said: “We would encourage all users of the North York Moors to act in a responsible manner and minimise damage to paths, bridleways and green lanes to both preserve the beauty of the moors and not to compromise the living people derive from the land.”

In a previous statement, a spokesperson for the National Park said that they would “not tolerate people disregarding the park’s environment” and that park rangers would be working with North Yorkshire Police officers to try and tackle the problem.

A police spokesman said: “We will be carrying out joint patrols with the rangers in the national park to target bad rider behaviour checking for vehicle defects, tackling anti-social behaviour and illegal riding.”