'Red tape' leaves Rutland zebra crossing half-painted

Severn Trent workers repainted only half the crossing

How many teams of workmen does it take to repaint one zebra crossing?

People were left laughing in the street when Severn Trent workers repainted only half of one after repairing a burst water pipe in Rutland.

The local council agreed to paint the other half because the water company was not required to do so "by national legislation".

Some people speculated the workers had run out of paint.

'Having a chuckle'

Nathan Ticehurst lives nearby and saw it while taking his five-year-old twins to school.

"I laughed at it. I try to put myself in the position of whomever painted it or came to the conclusion that it was a job done," he said.

"Everyone was having a chuckle. It's not important in the grand scheme of things but it seems like red tape or lack of common sense got in the way."

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The job was finished off by the council's highways team

Severn Trent said it fixed the burst water pipe, in Cold Overton Road, Oakham, on 24 June.

The old zebra crossing markings had faded over time, so the freshly painted markings made them look faint in comparison.

Rutland County Council repainted the rest of the zebra crossing on Thursday morning.

'Mad world'

The council explained: "As part of the reinstatement of the road, Severn Trent replaced the road markings that were affected following these repairs, which included part of the zebra crossing.

"This is all that Severn Trent are required to do by national legislation."

Some people have ridiculed Severn Trent on social media.

"The epitome of 'that's not my job'," said Victoria Neale on Facebook.

Helen Crouch said it "sums up the pathetic mad world we live in".

Pat Gwyther said: "Well I know there's cutbacks but that's taking it too far."

However, others said it was not Severn Trent's fault the original markings were so faint.

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The zebra crossing was clearly marked in June 2016

By October 2018 the zebra crossing looked faint

"Well if the road markings had been properly maintained in the first place, what they did would have been fine," said Emma Hodgson.

"They put the lines back on the patch they'd dug up. Not their fault the rest of it was a state."

Graham Duffield said: "It's a disgrace the council let it get like that in the first place!"

Severn Trent said: "In agreement with the local authority, we restored all of the road markings that were affected by the burst."