Volunteer cleans 167 dirty signs in town

A man has taken it upon himself to clean 167 signs across a Staffordshire town after noticing how dirty they had become.

Russ Thornley started going out with his bucket and brush about a year ago to clean up Tamworth’s signs.

He began his cleaning crusade after joining a litter picking group and said he noticed many signs in the area were “absolutely filthy”.

Staffordshire County Council said signs are routinely checked as required, adding it was investing £50m on its roads over the next three years.

Mr Thornley told BBC Radio WM: “I noticed that they haven’t been cleaned for ages. They were absolutely filthy.

“So I took a bucket and brush out the back of my car and started cleaning some road signs."

He described the dirtiness of the signs as a symptom of neglect, adding that he would also use hedge trimmers to cut back foliage.

“It’s a shame really because we love our town. We don’t want to live in a dirty, grotty place with litter everywhere,” Mr Thornley said.

He praised the litter-picking groups in the town, who he said did a “fantastic” job trying to keep the town clean.

“I appreciate the county council doesn’t have much money. If they can’t or won’t do it, then we’ll do it,” he said.

He criticised people for littering, adding: “It’s a real shame, someone said to me that for a country that allegedly is so patriotic ...so many people are treating it badly and chucking litter everywhere.”

Tamworth Borough Council chief executive Andrew Barratt praised people in the community who help keep the borough clean.

He said the authority’s StreetScene team worked to maintain the area but directional road signs were the responsibility of the county council or National Highways, which owns signs on major A roads and motorways.

Staffordshire County Council said: "Our highways crews work hard maintaining our huge road network of over 6,000 km and over the next three years we’ll be investing over £50 million in our roads."

The spokesperson said road signs were checked "routinely" adding people can report any issues online.

They added: “Lots of local communities already work with our highways teams helping to keep their local areas tidy, but we urge everyone to think of their own and others’ safety when carrying out roadside activities."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]