Anger over 'ugly' road signs

A north Shropshire woman claims views of her Elizabethan cottage have been spoiled by more than a dozen road signs.

Barbara Holt, 74, from Moreton Corbet, has owned Brock Cottage at Preston Brockhurst for more than 30 years, but said the property has been ruined by signs warning drivers to slow down.

Mrs Holt wrote to Shropshire County Council asking whether they could move the signs to a different site, but said she was told the signs had to be there following an accident on the road.

She said the signs, which include two big yellow and white ones on ten-foot poles, a "Give Way" sign and two red and white signs appeared outside her house two weeks ago, turning the grade two listed building into an eyesore. Other signs have also appeared nearby. "At one time people used to stop and take pictures of the cottage because it is so pretty, but now if they did that they would get a great big sign in the way. These signs have spoiled the cottage, and they have spoiled the entrance to the whole village.

"I have kept it nice for 30 years, but now you can't even mow the grass because now there are these poles in the way, it would just look untidy and unkempt. Other people in the village have also complained; it was of benefit to the whole village because it was just such a pretty site." No-one from Shropshire County Council was available for comment.