CONTROVERSIAL speed bumps on a moorland road could be end up in conflict with new disability discrimination legislation, a councillor claims.

A row over the recently-installed traffic calming humps at Moorland Road, Burley Woodhead, was last week ignited when farmers, elderly and disabled people complained of pain and discomfort when driving across the humps.

They say it has effectively barred them from driving through the popular beauty spot.

While one Ilkley parish councillor has been 'inundated' with complaints - many from Ilkley people - over the bumps, Burley Woodhead residents last week told an Ilkley Parish Council meeting the humps were essential to keep drivers' speeds below the 20 miles per hour limit.

Some parish councillors want Bradford Council highways officers to investigate thoroughly, although others said the humps may be the only way to enforce the speed limit, which Burley Woodhead residents had called for.

But Councillor Lexa Robinson stands by those she believes are suffering because of the speed humps.

She said: "There's a few people that have the attitude that 'if it's not in my back yard, it doesn't matter'. They don't know what it's like to be in a wheelchair. Next year there will be legislation coming in from the Government, and this could be affected. I'm pretty disheartened that there was no concern for these disabled people, and no concern about the elderly people who are in pain."

Coun Robinson was a member of a disabled access campaign group for many years, and says members fought hard over the years to gain disabled people the same access rights as the able-bodied.

Bradford Council environment chief, and Ilkley ward and parish councillor, Anne Hawkesworth, told the Ilkley Gazette last week she had already asked highways officers to study the humps - and they had concluded that they met the standard requirements.

However, there were other worries about the speed bumps, such as the effects on emergency vehicles.

Ilkley parish councillors are asking for emergency services' views on the speed humps. There were worries that ambulances cutting across Moor Road to avoid the often congested A65 may have trouble getting over the bumps, and this could be painful or dangerous to patients.

An ambulance service in the North-East recently revealed it would have to modify its entire new fleet of vehicles because of difficulties with speed humps in the area.

A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service said the service was always consulted when there were plans for new traffic calming measures. She said staff at the local ambulance station were consulted, and the feedback was sent to the local authority.

"We fully recognise the need to support schemes that help reduce speed, particularly in built-up areas," she said. "Although these measures can affect our response times, this has to be balanced against the positive element of lives saved and injuries reduced."

Coun Robinson wanted to know how the roads would be cleared of snow and ice in winter, and if snowploughs would be able to get across the speed bumps.

A Bradford Council highways spokesman said the snowploughs would be able to drive over the Burley Woodhead speed bumps, but would have to raise their plough blade to get over the humps.

The spokesman said: "Snow ploughs are rarely needed in the district due to increasingly mild winters. A snowplough's blade is carried only a few inches from the ground and must be lifted before the vehicle can drive over road humps.

"However, these stretches of road are thoroughly salted to clear the snow and make them safe for road users."

Snowploughs were called out just twice last winter, while roads were salted 90 times.

l