DOUBLE yellow lines which were welcomed by residents on a main road into Colchester have been dug up, just three days after they were painted.

The Northern Approach Road Action Group has been lobbying Essex County Council for more than 18 months to get the lines painted on Hakewill Way, Colchester.

The lines were finally introduced last week, but no sooner had they appeared, than they were destroyed by a utility company carrying out works.

Steve Joyce, a member of the action group, said: “We have waited many years for the yellow lines to combat the bad parking and the commuter parking.

“They have painted yellow lines this week, then three days later they have dug them up!

“It’s just ridiculous.”

Scott Greenhill, the Lib Dem candidate for the Mile End ward on Colchester Council, said: “Surely, there should have been some joined-up thinking here.

“Instead, what we have now is a situation where it looks as though money has been wasted.”

Nicola Spicer, a spokeswoman for Essex County Council, said residents could expect the lines to be reinstated after the completion of the works.

She said: “Essex County Council painted double yellow lines along Hakewill Way in Colchester.

“Any work currently being carried out is being done by a utility company and it will ensure that any road markings that have been disturbed by their works are replaced.”