A LANDLORD was shocked when double yellow lines were suddenly painted outside his York pub.

No one had warned or consulted Saddle Inn publican Mike Wilks about the 24-hour ban on parking along a 200-yard stretch of Main Street in Fulford.

The yellow peril also affected several neighbouring homes, fancy dress business Fantasy World and Fulford Methodist Church, none of whom had been informed either.

But when angry motorists began ringing City of York Council to complain, it quickly emerged that the lines had appeared in error.

Workmen repainting yellow lines on a short stretch of road had carried on for a further 200 yards than intended.

And last Sunday morning, nine days after the lines were painted, workmen came back and burnt them off again.

However, one short section of yellow lines could not be removed because a car was parked in the way.

Mr Wilks believes a number of customers who would normally have parked up outside the pub simply drove on.

He estimates he may have lost £300 to £400-worth of business over the nine days.

A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "I was gobsmacked. There had been no contact beforehand."

He said he had been told he could ignore the yellow lines and carry on parking his car outside his home as usual.

Consequently, it had been parked there on Sunday when the workers had come along to burn off the lines. "Nobody told me they were coming to do it."

A spokesman for City of York Council today apologised today for the mistaken painting of the lines, saying: "There was a communications break-down on the ground and a few metres of double yellowlines were incorrectly added to the job.

"We rectified this as soon as we knew about it and while the error wasn't particularly costly, we appreciate that it did cause inconvenience and concern to residents in the area. We would like to apologise for that."

Updated: 08:29 Wednesday, January 23, 2002