Police are hunting for a pair of frustrated residents who walked along a dual carriageway and reopened the road – by removing around 50 TRAFFIC CONES.
In scenes reminiscent of an Alan Partridge episode the cheeky duo are shown on CCTV footage wandering along the B4100 near Gaydon, Warks.
One-by-one they pick up every traffic cone and move it to the side of the road to open up the closed lane at 9.35pm on July 12.
Warwickshire Police say the move could have “killed someone” and released the 1.55-minute footage to try and track them down.
But web users were quick to spot the comparison between the footage and an episode of Alan Partridge where the hapless radio presenter is pulled over by police for stealing a traffic cone.
PC Catherin Morgan said: “This was a highly dangerous act which endangered not only the two individuals involved but also other innocent road users.
“The lane was closed for an extensive period whilst work was being carried out by highway employees.
“By removing these cones, a motorist could have unknowingly driven into a protected area and caused serious damage or even killed someone.
“Interfering with traffic equipment is a criminal offence which can lead to prosecution.
“Whilst we appreciate that road closures can be frustrating, they are in place for a reason and we would ask motorists to always respect this.”
Local resident Fran Morley took to Facebook to write: “I remember the roadworks around here, it was a nightmare. Fair play to them.”
Another internet user David Taylor added: “That’s like vintage Partridge. The one where he gets done by the cops for nicking a traffic cone. Absolutely brilliant. They must have been pretty annoyed that road was closed. And you can’t see any workmen so maybe they had a genuine point.”
But other locals failed to see the funny side with one adding: “That is extremely dangerous and irresponsible. Not very clever at all.”
