A GARAGE owner has been praised by electricity bosses for finally removing illegal signs threatening to clamp motorists who parked outside a substation.

Ismail Patel, had erected two signs on an electricity substation, in Bold Street, opposite his garage. Two more signs claimed the land was designated parking for customers of Randal Street Garage, Blackburn.

He had claimed to have a £200 one-year tenancy agreement allowing the signs to be erected although United Utilities, formerly Norweb, said the green light was never given and ordered Mr Patel to take them down. After repeated demands -- and the threat of legal action -- the signs have now gone.

Suzanne Rigby, spokesman for United Utilities, said: "We would like to thank Mr Patel for his co-operation on this matter and realising that our engineers need access to the substation at all times. There was never an agreement between us for that reason -- our main priority is to look after electricity and water supplies and as such we need access to these areas. He wrote to us with a request to put the signs up and we replied at the end of January refusing."

A solicitor said anyone that had been clamped would have been so illegally and a full refund would be entitled to a full refund -- plus interest. Mr Patel said he never actually clamped any of the motorists.

Mr Patel was unavailable for comment today.