IT IS good news that once again Craven has been included in the Tour de Yorkshire.

Organisers announced the full route last week – and one of the stages finishes in Settle.

But it also goes over the notorious Dibble's Bridge at Hebden, which has claimed the lives of two cyclists in as many years.

That is in addition to the 32 people who died when their coach crashed over the bridge parapet 40 years ago.

North Yorkshire County Council has promised to install a permanent safety fence, aimed at reducing the number of collisions as well as the severity of injuries.

It says the fence will be in place by the end of March.

There can be absolutely no delay in its implementation because countless cyclists will be tempted to try out the Tour route ahead of the official race in May.

Many will be amateurs, who are not familiar with the Dales' challenging roads, and we do not want to see any more tragedies.

FLOODS have caused chaos across Craven during the past fortnight.

And it seems Sutton-in-Craven was "the skin of a rice pudding" away from a major disaster on Saturday.

It is claimed that had the torrential rain continued for another 15 minutes, up to 300 homes would have flooded.

Even so, many homes were threatened and were only saved by the heroic efforts of firefighters and council workers.

Sometimes it takes a close call to get action, and this is what has happened here.

An emergency meeting was convened on Monday, where council and Environment Agency officials agreed to look at a long-term flood prevention plan for South Craven.

We know it is going to take time and money but, at least, the determination is there to find a lasting solution. In the meantime, measures will be put in place to mitigate the immediate danger.