MOST heavy lorries will soon be banned from using the narrow main street of Laycock as a rat run.

A traffic regulation order approved by Keighley Area Committee is expected to be operational within weeks.

The action by the Bradford Council committee comes after years of misery for residents of the tiny village above Braithwaite.

In recent weeks there has been damage to walls, lamp posts and signs, as heavy goods vehicles struggle to negotiate Laycock Lane.

One resident claims up to 30 lorries a day use the road to travel between Keighley and the moors, which have roads leading to Sutton, Cowling and Colne.

The area committee, part of Bradford Council, agreed earlier this year to fund the traffic regulation order (TRO), which will stop HGVs using Laycock as a through route.

Local councillor Adrian Farley (pictured) has warned that the ban will not stop lorries that are travelling to and from properties on the moor, if there are no alternative access routes.

He said: “The problem with the TRO is that it can’t preclude vehicles that have access. We can’t legally do anything about that.”