VILLAGERS in Shipton-by-Beningbrough have finally thrown in the towel after a 66-year fight to get a bypass.

When residents first saw plans for an alternative route around their homes the A19 was being used by Second World War pilots heading to the airforce bases.

Now it is more common for HGVs, farming vehicles and commuters to be among the thousands of vehicles who head north from York every day.

Campaigners have seen their hopes for a bypass rise twice, only to have them dashed as many times because of lack of funds.

Now members of the Shipton Bypass Committee and parish council for the 700-resident village have finally admitted defeat and taken down the landmark signs calling for a bypass.

They found out in May that North Yorkshire County Council had removed the village from a list of possible future bypass sites and were told that it would not be put back.

Bill Hiles, chairman of the Shipton Bypass Committee, said people realised they were fighting a losing battle.

He said: "There really seemed no point in belching against the thunder.

"We thought we had got there the second time. There are a lot of sad people out there. A lot of hard work has gone into this to keep it going for so long."

Clifford Smith, chairman of the parish council, said he had lived in the village since 1942 and he knew relatives who were calling for a bypass before then.

He said: "I'm sorry it's come to an end. The parish council is very disappointed, as is everyone else in the village.

"The campaign began at least as early as the 1930s and there are records of possible routes dating back to 1938. That one was a much shorter route beside the railway, which is not possible now. We've done our best and tried to campaign without upsetting anyone."

Timeline:

1939: Records show that a bypass, or alternative route around the village, could run alongside the railway track to the west on a district council map

1972: The village applies for a bypass for the first time

1991: A new route, running to the east of the village, is now the preferred option.

1992: The Government approves plans for a bypass

1994: They are cancelled again two years later with the blame put on cash pressures, which villagers believe are linked to the Government's crash out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

2002: A petition signed by nine-out-of-ten villagers is handed to North Yorkshire County Council calling for a bypass

2003: It is included in the county council's major project plans up until 2010, but at the bottom of a list of five other villages

2005: Shipton is again removed from the county council's forward plans and parish councillors told it will not be put back on the list.

Updated: 09:56 Friday, November 04, 2005