Litter picker finds road sign 'from the 1970s'

Mark Fishpool said the signboards were hidden under the overgrown bushes next to the Soke Parkway in Peterborough that runs along the A47 between Paston and Longthorpe

A litter picker uncovered two "historic" road signs at the side of a city parkway, which he believed were more than 50 years old.

Mark Fishpool set up the Pride in Peterborough Community Association two years ago and has been carrying out voluntary litter picks ever since.

This week, he found a 'Soke Parkway' signboard hidden beneath overgrown bushes next to the road near the Brotherhood Retail Park. He said he also collected a second signboard from highway contractors "who did not know the history behind the boards".

Mr Fishpool, 69, said he recognised the original signboards, having worked at Mears Construction company, which was responsible for building the parkway, in the 1970s.

Mr Fishpool said he has been looking for these signs for years and believed the "undergrowth has hidden them for at least 20 years".

"I was litter picking next to this road, near the Lincoln Road end and in the undergrowth I saw some lettering... so I went and had a proper look", he said.

"I cleared some of the branches away and found one of these original signs that was put in when this parkway was built in the 1970s.

"At 15, I started my first job with Mears Construction in 1971. The company was tasked with building the first parkway system around Peterborough, which stretched from Longthorpe to Lincoln Road, and I know that it was completed around 1972 when these signs were put in.

"This is one of the last surviving signs on the parkway systems. Over the years, contractors have either taken them away or damaged them - So these signs are carrying a bit of the history of Peterborough."

The Soke Parkway was built in 1970s

Mr Fishpool said he has shared photographs of the signboard on the litter picking groups' Facebook page and received "over 200 positive comments with many people sharing their nostalgia for these signs".

Earlier this year, Mr Fishpool said the volume of discarded traffic signs, bollards and sandbags he finds by the roadside had reached "epidemic" levels.

He said that when companies set up equipment and then left it behind at the roadside, it was a form of fly-tipping.