CAMPAIGNERS have blamed the North/South divide for a "futile waste of public money" on London roads while a York A-road remains congested and dangerous.

Grahame Hicks, chairman of the Action Access A1079 group, wrote to MP Graham Stuart condemning a £300 million car sharing lane on the M1 between Luton and the capital.

He said: "Clearly the Government does have money available for road-building. It just needs to spend it more wisely."

Campaigners have long called for an upgrade to the A1079, which links the centre of York with Pocklington, Market Weighton and Beverley.

It carries about 15,000 vehicles a day - but just a tenth of it is dual carriageway.

The latest attack comes as East Yorkshire MPs Greg Knight and Graham Stuart are due to meet roads minister Gillian Merron.

They will urge the Government to take account of the safety and economic issues of failing to improve the road.

Mr Hicks urged Mr Stuart to raise the disparity in spending with the minister. He said: "It has come to my attention that the Government has approved the spending of almost £300 million to build a car sharing lane on the M1 between Luton and London.

It is reported that this lane will be "active" at peak times only, and that Hertfordshire Police have said they cannot enforce it.

"I would have thought that this amount of money, or even half of it, would provide a fabulous upgrade to the A1079, improving road safety, encouraging economic development into the area and allowing public transport to flourish by ensuring that the buses could get through on time." There have been more than 275 accidents and 16 deaths on the road in the past five years alone.

Mr Stuart, who represents Beverley and Holderness, has launched a petition calling for Government action at www.ipetitions.com/petition/a1079.

"It has already been signed more than 300 times, and the Action Access A1079 group has collected hundreds more. Signing the online petition, one motorist wrote: "The congestion is just getting worse and worse.

"It can take over an hour to get from Pocklington to York, which is a disgrace!"