MINEHEAD Mayor Cllr Nick Messarra has warned he will "take a saw" to outdated highway signs in the town if they are not removed within the next few weeks. Cllr Messarra, who has spearheaded a move to introduce 'finger' signposts for businesses to rid the streets of unauthorised pavement advertising boards, said that, on a recent tour of the town with Somerset County Council highway and heritage chiefs, he was told that many signs, such as those dealing with limited or no parking, should have been taken down years ago. And he told fellow town councillors at a meeting last Wednesday that many of the signs were rusty and some directional signs were pointing entirely the wrong way. He said he had asked highway officers if he would be arrested if took the signs down himself and was assured he would not. "There are 16 of these small parking signs still up and I have told the county that I want to see them taken away. "If they are not, then I am getting a saw and I will cut them down myself." But retired policeman Cllr Martyn Snell warned against the action. "I would urge you not to go cutting down signs," he told Cllr Messarra. "If they have been legally placed there, then they should be legally removed." As for the finger signposts, which previously had to go back to the drawing board after concerns raised by the county's heritage unit, Cllr Messarra said he believed the redesigned products would prove acceptable. He said he had given the details to both highway and heritage officers on the recent tour, which was aimed at finding the best locations for the finger signposts, and they were "very happy." Cllr Messarra said he was now awaiting a sample before receiving final approval.