Chelmsford tongue-in-cheek signs must end, says Essex Highways

A council is urging whoever is putting up tongue-in-cheek signs in a city to stop the spoofs, saying they could “mislead residents and cause confusion”.

Several official-looking signs have popped up across Chelmsford over the past 18 months, with the latest poking fun at double decker bus drivers after one vehicle became wedged recently.

A logo was also installed for the failed retailer Woolworths and another sign was put up suggesting the local council would provide snorkelling equipment to navigate a flooded underpass.

Essex Highways asked for pranksters to stop.

“While we appreciate the imagination and good humour being shown by this creative person in Chelmsford, we do ask members of the public to not put up false signage as it can mislead residents and cause confusion”

The latest suspicious sign appeared on a bridge next to Chelmsford railway station after a bus got stuck under it in August.

Another suggesting pigeons were banned from gathering outside Chelmsford Market appeared in recent weeks, as first reported by Essex Live.

In January, a sign displaying width restrictions for boats passing through a railway viaduct was installed after pictures of a £1m yacht looking stuck – while moving slowly – went viral online.

Eagle-eyed shoppers spotted the Woolworths logo at the entrance to the Chelmer Village Retail Park in November 2024.

The shopping centre said, despite wanting to see the former High Street favourite make a return, the sign was not legitimate.

Earlier in 2024, Essex County Council stressed it did not provide swimming equipment after a sign suggesting it would hand out flippers, masks and snorkels appeared at an underpass near the city centre.

Two months later, signs appeared stating rowing through another nearby underpass prone to flooding was prohibited.

Many of the signs have been removed, but some of the more recent installations remain.

They appear to be authentic with similar design characteristics to genuine road signs.

It is not known who is behind them, but city council leader Stephen Robinson suggested it could be “someone having a gentle poke at the county council”.

“I wouldn’t condone it but it seems to be a light-hearted criticism,” the Liberal Democrat councillor said.