CAMPAIGNERS who rejected a controversial traffic scheme were aghast to find planning notices for the project erected within days of their historic vote.

Protesters' champagne corks had barely been cleared up around the streets of Cleobury Road, Bewdley, before notices were put up.

They are fuming Worcestershire County Council has gone ahead with the planning notice before Bewdley Town Council, which applied for the traffic-calming scheme, has considered the people's vote.

However, the county council insisted the notices were put up to re-open the consultation process and it is awaiting the town council's views.

The notices were up only six days after the West Midlands' first ever parish poll saw 80 per cent of residents vote against the project which would have seen £223,000 Government cash on safer school routes for St Anne's first and middle pupils.

They voted for a smaller scheme targeted on school crossing places on Cleobury Road and Wyre Hill.

Campaigner Mike Hardiman said: "This is a real kick-in-the-teeth for democracy. It seems the county council had no intention of listening to us."

Town and district councillor Stephen Clee has called for an emergency meeting of the town council, whose previous administration called for the scheme.

The new council, elected last month, is next scheduled to meet on July 1 - three days before the county council's deadline for comments on the plan.

He said the unfortunate erection of notices was the result of bungling county council officials.

He added: "It seems the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. The council's legal department had no knowledge of the poll when they drafted the notice - they should have been informed of it.

"I have been deluged with complaints from angry residents demanding to know why these notices have been put up."

Mr Clee, who is also county councillor for Chaddesley, said: "We need the new town council to discuss the implications of this vote and decide whether we now want to reject the scheme.

"I would expect the county council to take our views seriously."

However, a county council spokesman said the notices were drafted by the legal department in response to changes suggested by a steering group involved in the project.

He said: "The legal department only has to check the legality of notices.

"The notices were drafted before the town vote in response to changes suggested by the steering group. But they were issued in response to the town vote.

"Maybe we should have explained that we were re-opening the consultation process more clearly so people did not think we were just trying to push this through.

"We still await the views of the town council."