A retired engineer has criticised the council for taking more than a week to remove a road sign which he believes was hanging dangerously over the pavement.
Barry Watson, 73, says he initially alerted Barking and Dagenham Council about a 20mph speed limit sign bending at a precarious angle in Wykeham Avenue, Dagenham, on Wednesday, November 11.
However, despite the urgency of his call, the sign was only removed on the following Thursday, eight days later.
“I want to know what the council understand by the word ‘danger’, from both myself and a police officer,” he said.
“The care and attention they used to give seems to be non-existent.
“I was terrified that someone was going to get hurt. If it fell on an adult it would have really hurt them – if it fell on a child of six or seven it would put them in hospital for a long time.
“If it had fallen on someone I’d have happily stood up in court and defended them.”
Mr Watson says he immediately reported the sign to the authorities when he noticed that it was blowing in the wind.
He also claims he pointed the sign out to other passers-by and urged them to contact the council too to try and ensure that something was done quickly.
A council spokesperson confirmed action had now been taken.
He said: “We are grateful for the information regarding this road sign. We can confirm the sign has now been removed.”
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