Youngsters from the primary school waved placards to remind passing drivers to keep to the speed limit through the village.

They gained a lot of support from motorists, who slowed down and honked their horns to show their enthusiasm.

Jane Turner, headteacher of Spofforth Primary School, said: "It is part of a project we have been looking at all year about improving our locality.

"The older children have found one of the biggest concerns in the village is the volume and speed of traffic and feeling safe, which ties in with the Spofforth Against Speed group.

"We're lucky that the school is off the main road, but to walk to our school you have got to use one of these busy roads.

"Our secretary's husband was knocked down on the crossing and the children were quite shocked by that - if a grown-up can get knocked down, and on a crossing that's suppose to be safe, it's not a good sign."

Also joining in the protest was Steve Milner, a member of Spofforth Against Speed, who said the pupils had been keen to join the campaign to improve safety in the village.

"The children did their own petition when we did ours," he said. "They wanted to do something off the back of that too, because one of the main things is about kids and their safety."

Members of the campaign group have handed a petition of 5,000 signatures to county councillor Cliff Trotter, who took it to County Hall to ask for more investigations and action to take place.

vicky.carr@ypn.co.uk