THE call from the Local Government Association for only satnavs designed and properly programmed with restrictions on vehicle weight and other dimensions to be allowed on commercial vehicles is particularly welcome in Thirsk, where illegal incursions by heavy goods vehicles into the 7.5 tonne area that surrounds the town are frequent.

This need is underlined by an experiment to allow what “Longer Semi-Trailers” (LSTs) on our roads, which is being carried out by the Department for Transport.

I suspect that incursions by HGVs are largely unmonitored, and unpunished, and perhaps the solution lies in the use of data from Automatic Number Recognition cameras on surrounding roads – perhaps this could be added to by information from “concerned citizens”, who should be encouraged to note down and report the numbers of transgressors using the non-emergency police phone number.

I have a particular interest in the damage caused by heavy lorries, living as I do in Sowerby, where numerous incidences of damage caused to the historic Blakey Bridge have led to the installation of barriers that totally disfigure it.

The possibility of one of the new LSTs trying to cross Thirsk Market Place, with three narrow right hand bends, is worrying. The current articulated lorries have great difficulty, and even longer ones will cause chaos, putting both pedestrians and other road users at risk.

Chris Purser, Sowerby, Thirsk