'Crusader' clears overgrown plants from road signs

Ed the litter crusader said he had found a number of signs obscured by plants

A man who calls himself "Ed the litter crusader" has been clearing plants from road signs in his area after his stepson failed a driving test.

He goes out with a hedge trimmer and a sponge to make signs more visible to motorists, adding: "Presumably they were put there for a reason."

He had previously gone out to unblock drains around Ludlow in Shropshire, but took up his new campaign when his stepson was marked down for driving into a keep clear space which was "completely obliterated".

Shropshire Council said he was "one of many highly valued local volunteers" and it thanked "him for his efforts".

Ed the litter crusader, who did not want to reveal his real name, said he found one sign "at about a 60 degree angle" because the legs had "rusted off" and another which was only just poking out from the top of a hedge.

The council said its own street cleaning teams "work hard to maintain levels of cleanliness and grounds maintenance across the country, but local volunteers help to complement this work".

The man said there was "nothing remotely dangerous" about the sites he chose, but the council asked volunteers "to only work within a 30 mile an hour limit where it is safe to do so".