Signs were not above board

Phil Knight, who runs Key Street Music and Dance Bar in Clitheroe and is a director of Street Leisure, said he is furious that the signs have been removed.

"We are staging a massive music festival at huge expense and we cannot even put signs up to promote it. We didn't even receive a phone call from the council to tell us that we had done anything wrong," he said.

More than a dozen A1 size boards advertising the festival, which will be held over the August Bank Holiday, and the ticket hotline number had been posted up across the town.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said that the signs were removed because permission had not been granted to put them up.

Mr Knight had to postpone the three-day music festival, which boasts acts such as Emmerdale's the Woolpackers, Chas 'n' Dave and the Rubettes, in May after last-minute security worries. And he added that he had organised the festival to put Clitheroe on the map and spent a lot of money.

Mr Knight said: "I am not prepared to pull it again, but I feel like I've come up against a lot of obstacles. Everyone is running shows and have signs up all over Clitheroe, but it is only ours that have been taken down.

"I have played everything by the book, I'm not breaking any rules. This is very frustrating for someone who is trying to do something for the good of the town."

A county council spokesman said: "We gave Mr Knight permission to put up a single banner across the street in the town centre a week before the event and we have also been asked for permission to put up other signs.

"We had to take down some signs as permission for them has yet to be granted. As a rule signs like these are allowed to go up a week in advance so that there is plenty of time for people to see them.

"We have spoken to Mr Knight and returned his signs. We will be dealing with his request as soon as possible and wish him all the best with the festival."