To Let sign fears leads to ban in student area of Liverpool

Lidderdale Road is among the streets affected by the ban in the Smithdown Road area

A pilot scheme to ban To Let signs in part of Liverpool has begun amid concerns about crime and community safety.

People in the Smithdown Road area say the situation has become "crazy" with boards on almost every other house.

They are worried the signs advertise where students live, which leads to crime, and gives the impression no-one wants to live there.

Liverpool City Council has asked landlords to remove the boards.

The area covered by the scheme falls within Gainsborough Avenue, Smithdown Road and the railway line.

'Fairy lights'

Greenbank ward councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, who campaigned for the ban, said: "It was just becoming an endemic problem and almost every other house was sporting one these brightly coloured boards.

"It got to the point where people were putting fairy lights around the boards.

"It was unsightly and it was a real issue for community safety because, obviously, all the thieves would know where the students are."

Frank Hont, the council's cabinet member for housing, said: "So far we have had a broadly positive and constructive response from agents and landlords."