A NEW chairman of North Yorkshire County Council has been elected.

Councillor Tim Swales, 66, who represents the North Hambleton division, has been a Conservative member of the county council since 2004.

He has also been a member of Hambelton District Council since 2002.

Cllr Swales accepted the year-long position at the annual meeting of the county council at County Hall, Northallerton.

Road safety will be high on Cllr Swales’ agenda, using his experience as a successful speedway racer as a young man for Middlesbrough and then Newcastle.

He also became chairman of British Speedway in 1994.

He currently sits on the speed matrix committee for Hambleton and Richmondshire along with police, fire and rescue and highways representatives.

He said: “A lot of bikers come into North Yorkshire to ride through the beautiful countryside and that is good; but they don’t always take account of the nature of the routes and unfortunately the death toll has been rising.

“It’s good to be a biker, but you have to ride safely, and I will be putting my back behind road safety campaigning.”

The new vice-chairman of the county council is Cllr David Jeffels, who represents the Seamer and Derwent Valley division.