BUNGLING workers cost Herefordshire more than £2,000 after mistakenly painting double-yellow lines on a Hereford roundabout.

The double yellows appeared on the roundabout in Central Avenue, Hereford, in January, with many taking to social media to question why the lines had been painted around the roundabout, and why anybody would park there.

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According to the Highway Code, you must not park within 10 meters of a junction, including roundabouts. If you are caught parking too close to a junction, you may receive a fine or points on your driving licence.

This means that it would be illegal to park on the roundabout even without the double yellow lines.

Contractor "error"

Herefordshire Council said the lines had appeared due to an "error by one of our contractors".

"Putting double yellow lines on roundabouts is not usual practice and once we realised that they had been put in place we took steps to remove them as soon as possible," a council spokesperson said.

Great-grandmother Jenni Gough, 76, who lives in nearby Andrews Close, says she was “stunned” by the cock-up.

She said: “When you consider the appalling state of the roads, it’s astonishing to see money wasted on something so pointless as this.

“Who on earth would think that painting double yellow lines on a roundabout is a good idea?

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“Even non-drivers would know that. When I saw the lines, I was stunned.”

And van driver John Dixon, 40, branded the city a "laughing stock".

Total cost

But now Hereford taxpayers might be even more annoyed, as a freedom of information request reveals that the lines cost Herefordshire Council more than £2,000.

Herefordshire Council said that the painting of the yellow lines on the roundabout in Central Avenue had cost £399.72.

But the removal of the lines had cost more than four times that, at a cost of £1,768.77

This means the total cost of the "error" adds up to £2,168.49.