Mystery vandal paints over yellow lines in village

A prankster has been branded "pathetic" after costing taxpayers hundreds of pounds by repeatedly painting over yellow lines in a village in Leicestershire.

The lines in Ratby Road, Groby, were first targeted early last week and while the county council quickly reinstated them, the vandal struck again over the weekend.

Conservative county councillor Ozzy O'Shea said the actions constituted criminal damage and the culprit would find themselves in court and risked a fine or community service.

He also pointed out the lines were still legally enforceable despite being painted over and motorists could face a large fine for ignoring them.

O'Shea told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it would cost about £600 to repair the damage, having previously cost the council £200 to fix the first time.

"From my point of view, it's criminal damage. It's pathetic," he said.

"It's irresponsible to paint over double yellow lines. They're put there for a reason, and it's a safety reason.

"I've been looking to get more traffic wardens out there to get people ticketed. This will end up in court, and whoever is guilty could find themselves with a hefty fine or community service.

"This is vital money we need for council services that we're having to waste on redoing yellow lines".

Jenny Harris, who lives in Ratby Road, said she thought it was "utterly ridiculous".

She said: "The council have been out already to paint them back and then they've come and just painted back over them.

"It causes us problems because we back onto the road, and if someone parks here, what do we do?

"Someone is coming and doing this either early in the morning or in the evening when people aren't around".

Carl Swann, 60, has lived on Ratby Road for 25 years and said he regularly saw cars parking on yellow lines.

"We have three primary schools and one secondary school in Groby, and there are so many cars that continue to park on yellow lines anyway, during and out of the school run," he said.

"Obviously, someone has done this in protest, but they're here for a reason. I've sent tons of pictures to the council about cars on yellow lines around here.

"But because it's a small village and not Leicester city, they think they can get away with it".

Leicestershire Police confirmed the matter had been reported and inquiries were ongoing.

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