Drivers fined as diversion leads them via bus gate

A total of 80 people had been refunded for the mistake as of Wednesday, Essex Highways said

More than 500 fines have been issued to drivers after a diversion mistakenly directed them through a bus gate.

Anglian Water had shut Hythe Hill, in Colchester, to repair a burst main and used a third-party company to put signage in place.

However, motorists were led through the nearby bus gate while works took place between 16 and 21 May.

Essex Highways said it would rescind all 517 fines it dished out during this period - or refund those who had paid them.

Anglian Water added that it was trying to get in touch with the firm that put the diversion in place.

'Incorrect signage'

The bus gate uses an automatic number plate recognition camera to catch out vehicles using the road, as first reported by the Daily Gazette.

A total of 80 people had been refunded as of Wednesday, a highways spokesman said.

"We’d like to apologise to road users who received a penalty charge notice after being wrongly directed into the bus gate by incorrect signage installed by Anglian Water," he added.

"We are currently in contact with Anglian Water to understand how this error occurred and to seek assurance it won't happen again."

A so-called bus gate is ordinarily only authorised for use by buses, and sometimes bicycles, motorcycles and taxis.