Protest banners and signs put up along roadsides to fight plans which could see hundreds of pylons built across Shropshire and Mid Wales have been taken down by highway chiefs.

Powys County Council said today it had removed a number of signs from road verges and those attached to existing road signs because they did not conform to highway regulations.

But Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies said he could not believe that the council was spending its time and money taking them down.

He said: “A friend of mine put up a sign outside his property declaring his opposition to pylons/turbines etc. It was removed by Powys County Council.

“You wouldn’t think that it would have the time and money to spend on this because I’m sure there are a lot more pressing issues during these difficult financial times.

“All people are doing is expressing their views and I know the council has a duty to take signs down if they are not safe but I do sometimes have to shake my head in disbelief.”

He said roads throughout the region had been lined with signs and protest banners opposing plans which could see 46-metre high pylons being put up across the Shropshire and Mid Wales countryside.

But Powys County Council said it had a duty to remove unauthorised signs.

Lee Evans, communications officer for Powys County Council, said: “We have removed a number of signs from the road verges and those attached to road signs as they are unauthorised signs and do not conform to highway regulations.

“These signs, which have been taken back to the local highway depots, have the potential to cause a distraction for motorists and we have a duty to remove them.”

He added that signs located in the hedges or on fences would not be touched.

But protester Mark Jones said although safety was paramount people also had a duty to express their opinions.

National Grid is proposing to tap into the windfarms being built in Mid Wales, which could see a 400,000 volt line of pylons built in the countryside.

The line would link into one of National Grid’s main electricity lines which runs through Shropshire.

By Anwen Evans