A PENSIONER has criticised a ‘confusing’ road sign but 'patronising' highways bosses say the sign is clear to anyone who had passed a driving test.

Ron Chambers, aged 69, of St George’s Walk, Barbourne, Worcester who has been driving more than 50 years said he was unhappy with Worcestershire County Council after they sent him what he called a ‘rude’ and ‘patronising’ response to his concerns.

However, a spokesman for the county council has since apologised for the tone of the response and an engineer will investigate Mr Chambers' concerns.

Mr Chambers argued that to have a ‘no entry sign’ at one end of St George’s Walk where it meets St George’s Lane North was confusing because it was displayed next to a sign with "Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm".

Mr Chambers argued that because the signs are displayed together it reads to drivers as if the ‘no entry’ is only in force between those hours on those specific days.

In reality the sign refers to ‘waiting times’ and has nothing whatsoever to do with the ‘no entry sign’.

The reply from Worcestershire County Council highways was: “Please refer to the highway code with regard to traffic signs. The one-way system is not and cannot be time specific.

“The plates beneath the no entry signs refer to limited waiting time / timed parking restrictions. The two signs are separate and should not be confusing to anyone who has passed their driving test.”

Mr Chambers, who passed his driving test at the age of 17 and has never been involved in any serious accidents, said: “I’ve been driving for 52 years. The sign is confusing. I think their response was insulting and patronising. I thought when I read the message from the council ‘what a jobsworth’.”

Mr Chambers said there was no sign to explain that the 8.30am to 5pm sign referred to ‘no waiting’ which he said may explain why some drivers went through the no entry signs at certain times.

He said: “People may think it’s no entry between those times only. Really they should have put those signs somewhere else. All that needs to be done is for those yellow signs to be taken off. It is possible that some of the people driving up here (past the no entry sign) have misread the sign.”

Mr Chambers said he had lived in St George’s Walk for 11 years and had never seen anyone parking or waiting in that area anyway which begged the question of whether the sign was needed.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: "We are sorry to hear about the comments made to Mr Chambers.

"A senior manager from the Highways team will be contacting him to discuss his concerns in detail.

"Our engineers will be visiting the site to check it is safe for road users and residents as well as taking any appropriate action needed."