Thieves make off with eight signs in A169 raids (From York Press)

Thieves make off with eight signs in A169 raids

8:05am Friday 19th March 2010 in

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THIEVES have stolen at least eight signs along one road in a crime which will cost North Yorkshire County Council thousands of pounds.

Almost every road sign along a 23-mile stretch of the A169 between Pickering and Whitby has been taken.

Les Parker, improvement manager at North Yorkshire County Council highways office, said the crime covered the Whitby and Kirkbymoorside areas and would cost the council upwards of £3,000 when replacements are ordered.

He said: “Some of the signs, like triangular warnings, we keep in stock.

“But signs for directions or specific places, we have to draw up and order individually. We think the nine signs just from the Whitby area will cost about £3,500.”

Signs stolen include direction signs, and a Please Drive Carefully sign from the Hole of Horcum.

Mr Parker said most of the missing signs were made of aluminium, and this could be why they have been stolen.

He said: “Thefts like this happen from time to time, most often when scrap value is quite high.

“In the past we’ve even seen manhole covers go missing and probably sold for scrap. At least they’ve left us the poles.”

All the signs were attached to their moorings by sturdy bolts, but Mr Parker said it would not take the thieves long to remove them.

He said: “When we remove or repair signs, we do it with a degree of care.

“With ordinary tools and no regard for the sign, they could be removed fairly quickly.”

The thefts have so far been isolated to the A169, and City of York Council received no reports of road sign thefts within the city in 2009.

Mr Parker said there have been no complaints from motorists about the missing signs, and replacements have been ordered and should be installed within four weeks.