Temporary chicanes have been installed on a Brighouse road to stop it being used as a makeshift race track.

The move comes after two people were hurt when a car crashed into a crowd of spectators during a rally of high-performance vehicles on the Armytage Road Industrial Estate.

A 17-year-old Leeds youth and a 16-year-old Huddersfield girl were treated for minor injuries at Calderdale Royal Infirmary after the accident on Sunday, January 26.

Police said a grey Ford Fiesta was driven away from the scene. A 23-year-old Dewsbury man was later arrested and released on bail pending further inquiries.

For more than a year the industrial estate has been plagued by Sunday night gatherings of hundreds of young car enthusiasts who meet to show off their vehicles and race each other along a mile-long straight. The rallies attract people from the West Midlands, Manchester and Darlington and are believed to be organised over the internet.

Today a Calderdale Council spokesman said the artificial barriers had been installed on police advice to stop Armytage Road being used as a racetrack. It is not known how long the measures will remain in place or if they will be replaced with something more permanent.

Councillor Colin Stout (Ind, Brighouse) said: "From Brighouse Car Auctions to Sainsbury's roundabout is a straight mile and these youngsters were doing time trials down there. It is frightening.

"If these irresponsible lunatics want to race cars they should go to an organised rally. These people are not only posing a danger to themselves but also to spectators and property."

Police have repeatedly been called to Armytage Road on Sunday evenings to break-up the rallies. They have also blocked access roads and threatened to pass details of bad drivers to their insurers to discourage people gathering there.

Sergeant Jim Lynch, road traffic commander for Calderdale, said Armytage Road would now be constantly monitored and new powers enforced.

"On the night of the accident we had two cars racing side by side at speeds in excess of 100mph down the middle of Armytage Road," he said. "When the race had finished, the cars were coming back up and one of the drivers lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into a crowd of people.

"The majority of people who were going down there were law-abiding kids, but it is the idiotic behaviour of the minority we have a problem with."