AN AMNESTY on stolen and lost traffic cones has been declared by police in East Yorkshire.

Police in Pocklington are asking all householders who might have any yellow “no waiting” cones to return them to Pocklington Police Station by the end of July.

The force hopes the amnesty will save the cost of buying replacement cones – which cost about £60 each.

“Very often, these are issued for parking matters and, on occasions, they are lost or overlooked and never returned,” said Sgt Peter Rogers, of the Pocklington and Wolds Weighton Neighbourhood Policing Team.

“We are asking anyone who might still have one in their garage to let us have it back or give us a call and someone will collect it. We’re effectively having an amnesty on these until the end of July.

“They are expensive and at the end of the day we want them returned. This is now the chance for any residents or householders to return them.

“Legally, they have no use for householders as they need to be put in place by a police officer or police community support officer.

“We have lost a number of cones over the year and we are asking all our community contacts to spread the word in the hope that we might recover some of our missing cones.

“We can then replenish our stock for when they are needed.”

Police use cones for major events. The cones are often used to ensure safety at events or to assist in areas where traffic needs to be kept clear, for funerals, house moves and similar. They are also used to keep traffic moving when there has been an accident.

Pocklington Police Station will now accept any cones or signs people want to return. Anyone who has cones that require collection is asked to phone the police station on 101.