Police have described driving standards as “appalling” as motorists and motorcyclists were clocked at speeds up to 130mph over the weekend.

North Yorkshire Police said the fastest speed they clocked over the bank holiday weekend was 131mph on the A64, near York.

But they also pointed to more than 50 offences enforced on the B6479 Settle to Ribblehead road, in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, in just an hour-and-a-half.

Officers in Settle clocked cars travelling at almost twice the 30mph speed limit in a residential area.

The force announced on Friday it was deploying officers in a high-profile attempt to address speeding and road safety issues as the weekend approached and the lockdown measures eased.

But it said this did not prevent numerous offences, including many examples of driving at 100mph-plus across the county.

Superintendent Paula Booth said: “While many motorists took our advice on board, sadly the standard of driving and motorcycling by a minority this weekend was appalling.

“On Friday we warned motorists that we were stepping up our response to the horrendous driving and motorcycling we’ve seen, and we dealt with a high number of significant violations this weekend.

“As traffic levels increase with some lockdown restrictions being relaxed, we’re concerned that someone will be killed if driving standards are not brought under control.”

Ms Booth said: “So we have made the decision to continue this robust approach until the issue of excessive speed and other motoring offences has been addressed and we see safer driving and motorcycling across North Yorkshire.”