With flooding continuing to affect much of North Yorkshire and the City of York, police have urged the public to put their safety first.
Some motorists have been putting their lives at risk by ignoring road closure signs and the advice of police officers and crossing bridges which have yet to be checked by structural engineers.
Assistant Chief Constable Iain Spittal, of North Yorkshire Police, said:
The behaviour of some motorists across the county is causing me some concern.
Some people have been blatantly and, at times, aggressively ignoring the advice of police officers and crossing road bridges which still need to be checked by North Yorkshire County Council.
A large number of bridges on minor roads have been submerged or have had significant water pressure on them over the past few days. By crossing them before they have been deemed safe people are potentially putting their lives at risk.
The County Council are checking bridges as quickly as they can but some can’t be assessed until the water has submerged.
A huge amount of work has been done over the past few days to keep our communities safe and I urge people not to put their lives at risk for the sake of a longer journey.
As the efforts to keep North Yorkshire and the City of York open for business and its communities safe from the flood water and its effects, ACC Spittal praised the multi-agency response to the situation.
Assistant Chief Constable Iain Spittal added:
The partnership response to the flooding across the whole of North Yorkshire and the City of York has been outstanding. The situation is slowly improving and I urge the public to remain patient and help us to protect them.
