Knutsford man paints own road markings over safety concerns

Peter Sharratt said the lack of road markings on the busy roundabout was "dangerous"

A man who painted markings on roads leading to a roundabout has said he did it to shame a council into action after he witnessed too many near misses.

Peter Sharratt said he decided to "mark out to help out" after seeing confused drivers at the junction of Manchester Road and Northwich Road in Knutsford.

The 71-year-old said the original road markings were removed during work about a year ago and had not been replaced.

Cheshire East Council said the markings were due to be reinstalled this month.

Mr Sharratt, who has lived in the town for decades, said it was "completely barking" that only a red "no road markings" sign had been positioned near the roundabout since electrical work was carried out in 2022.

He said he wrote to the local authority about the issue, but received an "unhelpful response", which did not specify when the markings would be reinstated.

Mr Sharratt said he spent about 40 minutes painting the markings

He said he understood any delays were "about money and... priorities, but that area is dangerous".

"It beggars belief that the council is now relying on a 71-year-old pensioner with a spray can to do the work we already pay them for," he said.

After deciding to take matters in to his own hands, he said he bought a couple of cans of spray paint for £8 each and donned a high-vis jacket to carry out the work at about 04:30 BST on Sunday.

He added that he spent about 40 minutes painting the markings and used his car and four traffic cones to cordon off the area while he did the work.

"These markings were there for a very good reason," he said.

"These signs urgently need doing.

"This work should be put at the top of their priority list."

Mr Sharratt said he protected himself during the work using his car and four traffic cones

Cheshire East Council said: "Mr Sharratt may feel that his actions in spray painting his own road markings were well motivated, however, this was a dangerous action, which placed himself and other road users at risk.

"It was an unwise thing to do and in the event of any incidents, then the onus of responsibility would fall on the individual, in this case Mr Sharratt.

"The council has already scheduled works at this roundabout junction to reinstate existing road markings and undertake additional patching works, which will be carried out at the end of this month."