RESIDENTS in Organ Street were shocked when a new no waiting sign appeared slap bang in the middle of the pavement.

But they weren't half as stunned as partially blind pensioner Frank Cull who walked into it while going for his paper.

The post appeared last week between an old concrete lamp post and a new, taller lamp at the Railway Riad end of the street after workmen tarred a strip between the two.

Convinced it was an official no waiting between 8am and 6pm sign residents and pedestrians have been manoeuvring round it grumbling that it is a total waste of taxpayers' money and fuming at the stupidity of someone to put it there in the first place.

It has split the pavement in two and anyone in a wheelchair or with a double buggy could not get by.

I was called out this week to see the ludicrous sign for myself and I must confess I was stumped.

I rang the council to explain the problem and they immediately sent out an engineer who was also baffled by its appearance.

A spokesman said it had all the signs of a practical joke and that council workmen had certainly not put it there. The sign bore no relation to traffic restrictions in the area. He claimed a prankster must have got hold of it when work was going on nearby and rammed it into the tar while it was still wet.

The residents are not convinced - but I'll guarantee it has been shifted by now.