Manx 'cone ranger' campaigns to clear up island

A councillor who is calling himself the "cone ranger" has been posting photographs of abandoned traffic cones on social media as he campaigns to clear up the Isle of Man.

Andrew Bentley said between 50 and 100 cones had been removed but there were "plenty more to go".

The Douglas councillor said many cones appeared to have "gone feral and have started to merge into the landscape".

People can report items that need moving via the government.

Mr Bentley said people should not move the cones themselves but use the reporting system on the Department of Infrastructure's (DOI) website.

He added: "I would never advocate taking direct action against cones, because actually they could be here for somebody's health and safety policy or their insurance."

With every photo he shared he said he also emailed the DOI with their locations.

Mr Bentley said the DOI was responsive but the issue was part of a "big picture" about the island's "many vacant sites and temporary car parks that seem to be a bit more permanent in nature".

"It's something that we should be looking at in the future, how do we keep these things to a minimum and how do we keep the cones counted," he added.

He said in many cases the cones had "become part of the urban environment and if they're an indicator species of a unhealthy urban ecosystem then obviously these cones need to be addressed".

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