A BUSINESSMAN is furious that authorities have issued him with a speeding ticket even though a sign warning of a recent speed-limit change on the road he was travelling on had been sprayed over with black paint.

Philip Rostron was driving out of Blackburn on the A677 Preston New Road at Mellor Brook, near the Windmill petrol station, when his van was flashed by a fixed camera. He was travelling at an alleged 36mph in the new 30mph zone.

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But he said a sign warning that the limit had changed from 40mph to 30mph was unreadable because it had been sprayed over — so he believes his ticket should be rescinded.

Mr Rostron, 62, said: “Lancashire County Council has put up road signs warning that it has been changed from 40mph to 30mph. But some kind person has got black spray and sprayed it out. They would not have put that sign there unless they thought there was going to be a problem. And there is a problem.”

Mr Rostron, who owns Darwen Bed Centre in Blackburn, said he has driven up to 40,000 miles a year for the past 30 years making deliveries. He said he has been driving for 46 years and had never had a speeding ticket before now. He said of the ticket: “There will be other people in the same situation as me. I want it overturning — if I had seen the sign I would have reduced my speed.”

Mr Rostron, of Feniscowles, Blackburn, was given the option of three penalty points and a £100 fine, challenging the ticket or going on a speed-awareness course at the cost of £95.

Ridwan Musa, Lancashire County Council highways manager, said: “When speed limits have been changed, additional signs advising of the new speed limit are put up.

“These are located in advance of the speed-limit signs. It is these additional signs that have been vandalised. We will clean or replace them as soon as possible.”