Campaign to curb illegal signs

Unauthorised signs will be removed by officials

Illegal road signs in Lincolnshire are being targeted by highways officials who say they are dangerous.

The unapproved signs, advertising car boot sales and villages fetes, will be removed from fences and trees if spotted by highways workers.

In a move to tackle the problem, Lincolnshire County Council has changed its procedures so it can remove them more quickly.

Highways Manager Steve Wiles says signs that are a distraction or harm the environment will be torn down.

If they are left up for weeks on end, they are an absolute abomination in the countryside

Don Patterson, Committee for the Protection of Rural England

Royal Automobile Club spokesman Kevin Delaney has backed the move.

He said: "All signing is a balance between the need to give information and the problem of distracting drivers."

"Sometimes the signs obscure legitimate signs and sometimes they flap in the breeze and are tacked onto lamp posts."

"Drivers can't see them and they mean nothing to 99% of the motorists who do see them."

Don Patterson of the Committee for the Protection of Rural England said: "One of the attractions of the Lincolnshire roads is the views that you get, and if you get a lot of road signs, they don't fit in.

"If they are left up for weeks on end, they are an absolute abomination in the countryside and, if they are nailed to trees, they are a danger to the habitat."