RESIDENTS battling the number of signs on a road in a village near Selby have appealed for others to get behind their campaign for a clear-out.

The call came after villagers in South Milford said motorists were faced with 45 signs in a half-mile stretch of road.

Bosses at the RAC Foundation motoring charity said the signs through the village raised road safety issues and were an "eyesore".

Now Edward French, chairman of the Village People action group, has asked others to help mount a campaign for a clear-out of the signs, which include warnings about roundabouts, footpaths and other hazards.

He said: "There are just too many in certain parts of the village. A motorist travelling along there would not be able to take in all the signs. It is a safety issue.

"I think it is an eyesore. The fewer signs there are the better it is really, especially in a rural area.

"We hope people will get behind the campaign."

The road is thought to be one of the most cluttered in Britain, with double the number of signs as the previous worst-known case.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Psychologists tell us that the average person can take in five, plus or minus two, messages at any one time, so if you come to a junction and there are ten different signs there's no way the average person can take all that in.

"It leads to confusion and uncertainty which is a serious road safety issue, never mind the eyesore caused by this number of signs."

But bosses at North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for the road, said the signs were there for safety reasons.

A spokesman for the county council said: "We are aware of the concerns of a small number of residents in South Milford regarding the use of signage in their village.

"Most of the signs which are currently in place are required to be there by law, such as those warning of low bridges and pedestrian crossings and they play an important road safety role.

"Over the next two years, all residents and businesses in the area will have the opportunity to have their say over signage as part of our public consultation on a traffic management strategy which is earmarked for the village."