Ban signs sawn down
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by Miles Brignall • Police suspect a disgruntled haulier of hacking down signs banning heavy trucks. The notices, imposing a 7.5-tonne weight limit in the Derbyshire village of Brassington, near Ashbourne, have been vandalised three times since they were first erected about six months ago.
• First they were sprayed with yellow paint to make them unreadable; • Second, when council workers had cleaned them, the signs were coated in black bitumen and had to be replaced; • The third blow came last week when five of the 17 signs were sawn from their posts and taken away.
Sergeant Bill Storey at Buxton traffic police says: "It's obviously a local person who is doing this so that he can continue taking his lorries through the village and avoid a detour."
Local tipper operators complain that the 7.5-torme limit forces them to make an Skm (five mile) detour on a round trip to Longcliff Quarries in Brassington. And Longcliff Quarries says the ban is adding nearly LI a mile to its costs.
Derbyshire County Council will not replace the signs, worth £1,500, until the police have finished their investigations, which could lead to a prosecution for criminal damage.
However, Sergeant Storey says that until the signs are re-instated police will be diplomatic to drivers.
"If any vehicle over 7.5 tonnes is seen going through Brassington the driver will be stopped and advised of the weight limit, but if he is caught again he will be prosecuted".