RED ALERT

Homeowner sparks uproar putting 'fake traffic light' outside his cottage leaving drivers confused

(1º§) Wayne Earl had become increasingly frustrated at the porch of his Grade II listed former toll house being struck by vehicles, a court heard.

(2º§) It had already been damaged by passing cars, demolished by a lorry and Wayne feared his home could even be destroyed.

(3º§) But when he put a bright green light up, it left drivers confused and "could potentially cause accidents".

(4º§) The 62-year-old's Tudor-style house in idyllic Upton Lovell, Wiltshire - where property prices average £600,000 - sits on crossroads of the A36 and Manor Road where there have been several fatal road traffic collisions.

(5º§) Police said the bright green light he placed in his porch sat in line with traffic lights and looked as if it had been set up to deliberately confuse motorists about the sequence of red, amber and green.

(6º§) Officers approached self-employed carpenter Wayne about the issue - but it was three months before he switched it off.

(7º§) As a result, Wayne, who said other villagers objected to the light, was charged with causing a public nuisance and hauled before magistrates in nearby Salisbury.

(8º§) Prosecuting, Ryan Senevirante, told the court: "A police officer saw lights signalling from the area outside his house that looked as though they could be mistaken for traffic lights.

(9º§) "The green lights were similar in size and shape to traffic lights and in a position that they would be likely to cause confusion to road users and potentially cause road traffic accidents."

(10º§) Defence lawyer Trevor Line explained Wayne erected the light after his porch had been damaged on several occasions by passing cars and even demolished by a lorry.

(11º§) Mr Line told magistrates: "He was fearful that the next time it might be his house so he put up a light so vehicles could see the porch."

(12º§) Sergeant Kevin Harmsworth, of Wiltshire Police, said Wayne's light "posed a considerable danger" and caused locals "a huge amount of frustration".

(13º§) The court heard the traffic lights went up in 2015 and the first official complaint came in 2019. At Salisbury Magistrates Court, Wayne was fined £150 after pleading guilty to causing a public nuisance.

(14º§) Presiding Justice Mrs Hatty Stafford-Charles said: "We accept you put on those lights quite a long time before anyone came and complained about them however clearly the lights were misleading as we saw from the photograph and you did not remove them until January."

(15º§) Speaking after the court case, Wayne - who has lived in the house for 24 years - said: "One lorry was turning up the lane opposite and could not make the turn so reversed and demolished the wall and the porch.

(16º§) "The damage cost me thousands to repair." "It was after that I decided to put the light up so the porch could be seen by people driving past." "There had also been a few other times drivers had knocked the porch and caused some damage."

(17º§) He said he originally fitted a white light but changed it after someone told him bright white light was bad for the local bats.

(18º§) He claimed other villagers had said "untrue" things in their statements to police and the case should have never gone to court. As well as his £150 fine, Wayne is to pay £150 in costs and a £32 surcharge which totals £332.

(19º§) He had faced three charges of failing to comply with a community protection notice but these were dismissed after he admitted the charge of causing a public nuisance.

https://www.thesun.ie/news/7416998/homeowner-uproar-fake-traffic-light-cottage/