RESIDENTS of a North Yorkshire street had to call for help when they woke to find themselves blocked in – by a giant snowball.

People in Chestnut Garth, Hemingbrough, near Selby, had the snowy surprise yesterday morning when they found pranksters had left the massive missile at the road’s junction with Back Lane.

A member of the public who called North Yorkshire Police at 7.45am said residents had tried to roll it out of the way, but it was too big and would probably need a tractor to move it.

He said drivers were only able to get past the snowball with difficulty. The police passed the information on to North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department, who sent a snow plough to the scene within 15 minutes.

A spokesman for the council said the snowball measured about 5ft by 5ft.

It was broken up by the snow plough before being pushed to the side of the road, allowing drivers easier access from the street.

The spokesman also said it was all right for people enjoy the snow, have snowball fights and build snowmen – but not in the street. He said: “It could be very dangerous, as if you collide with a huge lump of ice going at any speed you’re going to damage your vehicle and potentially yourself.”