No plans for new Banksy joke sign about Bristol accents

The Highways Agency said it had no plans to reinstate the sign

The Highways Agency has said it does not have any plans to reinstate a Banksy sign next to a Bristol motorway.

The sign, which said: "Welcome to the West Country, please don't laugh at our accent" was torn down by officers.

A sequence which showed how it was erected on the M32 featured before the TV screening of Banksy's film Exit Through the Gift Shop on Saturday.

"Don't take the mick out of our accent is not one of our key messages," a spokeswoman for the agency said.

The signpost, near junction two of the motorway, is now blank.

The Highways Agency said the fake sign was pasted on top of a sign that it said was usually blank but could be flipped over to show diversion route details.

The agency's spokeswoman said she was "sure they didn't realise" the fake sign was a Banksy when it was taken down about three months ago.

She added the sign was torn as it was taken down because of the way it had been pasted to the signpost.

The spokeswoman said routine patrols on the motorway network look for problems with signs and correct them when necessary.