A COUNCIL in rural North Yorkshire has announced a five year moratorium on fracking.

Ryedale District Council voted for a moratorium on Thursday night, leading to calls by campaigners for North Yorkshire County Council to follow suit.

Parts of the county are being targeted by profit-hungry energy companies willing to wreck the countryside to exploit gas reserves held in underground shale strata.

The process involves pumping millions of gallons of chemically treated water into the strata to force out gas.

Fracking sites across the east of the county have been targeted by protesters.

Sue Gough, from Frack Free Kirby Misperton — a village near proposed fracking sites — said: “This is extremely welcome news and we are delighted that the District Council has voted to ban fracking in Ryedale for at least the next five years.”