A disused trailer cafe is to be removed from a layby at Beamsley Hill as part of Tour de France preparations.

Magistrates approved an application by North Yorkshire County Council to remove and dispose of the trailer – and bill its owner, at a cost of around £4,000.

The Skipton court heard that the council wanted to smarten up the A59 layby to make way for sightseers for the summer Grand Depart of the Tour.

The court heard that requests for the owner, Helen Firth, of Sour Lane, Stirton, to remove the trailer had been made by the council on October 9 and a summons for her to appear in court delivered by hand.

She had indicated to the council that she was attempting to sell the trailer, but failed to respond to her summons and did not appear in court when the council application was decided in her absence.

Magistrates were told it would cost around £4,000 to remove and dispose of the trailer, but Firth could in the meantime avoid costs by removing it herself.

A council spokesman said: “North Yorkshire County Council served notice for the removal of a trailer which had been abandoned in a layby on the A59 at Beamsley Hill, east of Bolton Bridge. When the trailer was not removed by the owner, the county council made a successful application at Skipton Magistrates Court for a removal and disposal order, which was duly granted.

“The county council will remove the trailer in the New Year so that resurfacing and kerbing work can be carried out in the lay-by so that it is clear for general use and in time for the Tour de France. The authority will also seek to recover costs for the trailer’s removal.”

Tour cyclists, together with around 2,500 support vehicles, are due to travel down Beamsley Hill on the second day of the tour in Yorkshire on their way from York to Sheffield.

The tour attracts a world wide audience of two billion – with thousands expected to line the route.