An 85 year-old man who put a highways cone outside his bungalow to warn motorists about flooding says he has been threatened with a £70 fine.

Despite repeated pleas from residents to Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways department to tackle it, flooding has been an issue on Ingham Hall Gardens, Parson Drove, ever since Neville Fish moved to the area more than 20 years ago.

To highlight the flooding Mr Fish, out of concern for the safety of others, decided to place a cone in the road.

But this move has landed him in trouble with the police, who Mr Fish says threatened him a with £70 fixed penalty notice for creating a danger on the highway.

Mr Fish has lived alone at the bungalow since his beloved wife Doreen died 20 years ago.

Steve Altria, of Wellington in Somerset, is furious at his father in law’s treatment.

He said: “He brought his bungalow over 20 years ago and he was reassured and his deeds clearly state that the road to his bungalow along with the other properties in his road would be adopted as public highway by Cambridgeshire County Council.

“Despite best endeavours the road outside his bungalow floods and remains flooded for twenty years. At the moment it is flooded.

“Out of concern for the health and safety of others he placed a highways cone to highlight the flood.

“When is a highway not a highway? If the road is a public highway as he believes it is why does the council’s Highways department still allow it to flood after 20 years and if it’s not a highway why has been threatened with a fine by the police for blocking the public highway?

“Do the police really not have anything more pressing to do than threaten with fines 86 year-old pensioners living at the end of a remote rural cul de sac?

“Why can’t Cambs Highways sort out a problem that has been reported to them many times over the past 20 years?”

A Cambs County Council spokesman said: “The road he is on is an unadopted road so it is for the developer who owns it to ask us to adopt it.

“We’ll go out and have a look at the gully by the road and see if it’s draining properly and we are more than happy to talk to him.”

A Cambs Police spokesman said: “We received a number of complaints that a cone was being placed in the middle of the road.

“An officer visited the resident to ask him to remove the cone and informed him it was an offence to place items in the road. He was given advice on who to contact regarding resurfacing and drainage issues.

“At no stage was he told he would receive a fine.”