Partial Witham bus stop road re-painting branded ridiculous

UTC? Road users have been left with a confusing message following resurfacing works in an Essex town

Worn out road markings at a bus stop have only been given a "ridiculous" partial re-paint, a councillor said.

Roadworks took place over the U, T and half of O of a faded "bus stop" marking on Newland Street in Witham, Essex.

Once resurfaced, the contractor was only obliged to reinstate the letters it dug up, the county council said.

Steve Hicks said he "couldn't believe" the result. Openreach said a partner carried out the work and it would discuss the painting with the council.

Mr Hicks, a Green Party councillor for Witham North, said: "Somebody rang me up about this half a job that had been done... so I went and had a look on Friday evening, and I couldn't believe it."

He said with the rest of the bus stop road markings heavily faded, the result was a very bright, newly painted "UTC".

"It's so loud - it just shows the inability for a district authority to send someone in and do a proper job," he said.

He described the end result as "ridiculous" and added: "The cost of sending a truck in to do that little tiny bit of painting... with a fuel crisis on... it's crazy."

This is what the bus stop road markings looked like before repairs were made

Essex County Council's highways department said: "Government legislation states that when utility companies carry out works, they are only obliged to reinstate the surface... they have physically disrupted. This is why the lines in this location have only partially been repainted."

Openreach said the work was done by a partner installing infrastructure to upgrade the broadband network in the area.

"We understand that the works have been reinstated correctly. We'll pick this up with Essex County Council to see what can be done," a spokesman said.