COUNCIL contractors have been forced to scrape off and repaint double yellow lines in Wiveliscombe after discovering they were too wide.

The yellow lines were painted last October but later it was realised they were too wide for the town’s conservation area status.

Under the conservation area Somerset Council has a statutory duty to ‘preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area’.

Somerset Cllr Dave Mansell, who represents Wiveliscombe, said: “There were local complaints to Somerset Council after the lines were done in October due to the quality of the work and the lines being too wide for a conservation area.

“The contractor has been required to redo the work which I believe to be at their expense, as they did not get it right first time.”

The company used a three-man team over two days to complete the work.

The lines were originally 75 mm wide but had to be repainted to a width of 50 mm.

Utility firm Milestone Infrastructure, which maintains Somerset’s roads, did not respond to calls or emails about the issue.

A council spokesman said: “Due to some issues with the original yellow line refurbishment work, unfortunately the contractor had to go back and rectify some of the defected work.

“There was no cost to the council as responsibility lay with the contractor.”

The council has recently agreed an eight-year, £225 million road maintenance contract with Kier for the county’s 4,200-mile network which will start in April.