Fine for biker using Dales bridleway

NATIONAL park rangers have warned trail riders and off-road drivers are placing some of Yorkshire’s most precious landscapes at risk by continuing to flout traffic orders.

Officials from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and North Yorkshire Police officers have condemned the latest case of illegal off-roading which led to a motorcyclist being issued with an on-the-spot fine.

Sergeant Stuart Grainger, from the Leyburn and Dales Policing Team, gave the biker the £30 fine after spotting him in a group of motorcyclists on a bridleway in Coverdale running from Horsehouse to Fleensop.

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The group had ridden off in a bid to escape but the motorcyclist, who was from the Richmond area, became stuck on the track, allowing Sgt Grainger to catch up with him.

The national park authority’s area ranger for Lower Wensleydale, Nigel Metcalfe, maintained the majority of off-road trail bikers and off-roaders are law-abiding.

But he added: “There are always a few who think they are above the law and can go where they want, irrespective of the damage they may cause to the land and its wildlife.”