VANDALS are the likely cause of a sign being tampered with which wrongly warned of the A1101 being closed at Welney because of flooding.

Cambridgeshire County Council insisted they did not authorise the road closed sign to be amended at the junction with High Street and St Peter’s Road.

“We did not put the sign up,” their spokesman said on Friday. “Highways engineers will go out this afternoon and fold it back up.

“Thank you for bringing it to our attention.”

The spokesman added: “We open the sign when asked to do so when flooding is expected and look after it.”

The sign, which was up for several days, is not the responsibility of the Environment Agency.

“We don’t put up road signs,” their spokesman said.

The spokesman sent a link showing water levels at Welney to be way below that where flooding would be even a remote possibility.

The most likely explanation is that vandals deliberately prised open the sign which is used for when the Wash Road through Welney is closed.

MP Steve Barclay said: “It is remarkable in the middle of summer after a week of good weather that these road closure signs have gone up.

“Clearly they have no regard to the cost in petrol and inconvenience in wasted time of local residents.”

The MP earlier this year launched a Parliamentary campaign to get a new causeway built across Welney Washes. The road was closed for 46 days last winter because of flooding.

In February it was revealed that electronic signposts showing real time flooding updates will be installed to alert drivers about the state of the A1101 Welney Wash road.

Norfolk County Council has offered to fund 75 per cent of the £15,000 cost of the signs, meaning the parish council is now on the hunt for the remaining £3,750.