RESIDENTS of a York village are furious that their streets have been turned into a "rat run" by roadworks which are due to last 60 weeks.

People living in Bilbrough say their village has been gridlocked nearly every morning since work began to remove traffic lights on the A64 at Copmanthorpe.

They have urged restrictions to be placed on the width and weight of vehicles using the route, after lorries and double-decker buses were seen heading along one of the village's main routes, the narrow Cat Lane.

But a Highways Agency spokeswoman said they would prefer traffic to stay on the A64, and any restrictions would have to be made by the police or local authority.

"There is barely enough room for two cars to pass each other on Cat Lane never mind two HGV's," said Bilbrough Parish Council chairman Sam Esler.

"Issues such as extra pollution and difficulty for local motorists are attached to this, but safety is our main concern.

"These roads are just not suitable to take heavy volumes of traffic.

"Children here are trying to get to school in the morning, and not only do they have to deal with incredibly busy roads, but then their bus is delayed when they get to it," Mr Esler said.

He said the parish council did not want to keep people off the roads, but asked for "some sense" to be shown.

"People pay their road taxes and are entitled to use the roads.

"But some sense is needed. We would like to see signs erected restricting the weight and width of traffic that can use these roads."

A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency said no diversions had been set up to try to avoid situations where local roads were swamped by heavy traffic.

But she said it was accepted that motorists with local knowledge would try to find an alternative route.

"The Highways Agency will assist with this in any way possible.

"But the imposition of any restrictions is the responsibility of the police or the relevant local highways authority," the spokeswoman added.

Updated: 11:37 Monday, September 17, 2001