Residents of Great Barugh, near Malton, concerned about speeding following a series of crashes in the village

The residents of Great Barugh say that a car crash this week was the final straw in a long campaign stop the road through their village being used as a rat run between Malton and Kirkbymoorside.

The car crashed outside the family home of Margaret Dalby, who is retired, at about midnight on Monday.

Neighbour Anne Gillies, who saw the crash, said: “I was in my study and I heard a terrible scraping noise.

“I went to the kitchen and I could just see car lights, and I realised that the car was on its roof, facing the wrong direction. My husband and I went outside and a chap in his mid-20s got out of the car and he said he wasn’t injured.”

Husband John Gillies said: “The problem is that the 30mph sign is in completely the wrong place. If you don’t start braking until you see it, you are halfway through the village by the time you’ve slowed down.

“It is dangerous for everyone in the village.

‘‘When we walk the dog to the nearby fields, we have to walk on the overgrown grass verge because there is no pavement, but it’s not safe to walk on the road.”

Peter Milner, chairman of the Great Barugh and Little Barugh Parish Council, said that more needed to be done to put pressure on the county council and the police to tackle speeding. He has asked any resident who is concerned about the problem to contact him directly.

Mrs Dalby had her grandson Cameron staying with her when the accident took place.

She said: “There have been far too many accidents in this village – around 17 in the past six years.

“Back in August, we helped a young nurse who crashed into the tree outside.

‘‘There was also an accident further down the road last week, a year ago a motorbike drove into me while I was backing out of my drive, and other people have been hit while they have been backing out of their driveways.

“The police did a speed check and I believe they caught 30 people in an hour.”

Cameron, 14, said: “I had just come to stay with my grandma for half-term.

‘‘It worries her that people keep crashing into all the houses around here.”

Mrs Dalby’s husband, Brian, has written no fewer than six letters to the Highways and Transportation Department at North Yorkshire County Council, but nothing has been done. She said: “Brian just feels that although there have been no fatalities so far, as the number of accidents increase, so does the chance that someone will be killed or hurt.”

Police confirmed that there had been a car crash in Great Barugh on Monday night, but said they were unable to comment on traffic problems in the village.