Gaffe sees 'keep clear' lines painted on road outside school that shut 10 years ago

Bright yellow "keep clear" school markings have been mistakenly painted on a road outside a school that has been closed for 10 years.

The 30ft-long (9.1m) markings in English and Welsh were painted outside Ysgol y Fron in Holywell after Welsh Water dug up the road for the sewer network and was told to reinstate the carriageway "on a like-for-like basis" by Flintshire council.

Holywell resident Russell Price said the error was "the talk of the town", adding: "It's a bit daft, the school has been closed since 2016."

Flintshire council admitted the "school-specific markings were no longer appropriate" and said it was "rectifying" the problem.

Price described it as a "classic case of departments not talking to each other".

He thought Welsh Water would have been asked to reinstate the road "like for like" by the council and took it literally, replacing the faded old markings.

The old school is now overgrown, but there is a nursery next door, leading him to wonder if there had been some confusion.

But, he added, the work took eight weeks "so it would have been apparent the school was not in use".

Tamsin Prichard, who works nearby, branded it "a bit silly".

She walks past regularly and initially thought the markings were for the daycare next door before realising they stopped short of the premises.

Katie Wilby, the council's chief officer for streetscene and transportation, said: "Following the installation and a review of this, the council recognises that the school-specific markings including the school keep clear zigzags and associated school no-parking markings are no longer appropriate given that the school has been closed for a number of years.

"The council is therefore rectifying this and following a review of the road markings outside the former school the council intends to remove the school-specific zigzag and no-parking markings while retaining the existing yellow lines."

Welsh Water said: "Following some works to improve the sewer network in Halkyn Street, Holywell, we reinstated the carriageway.

"The markings were repainted on the instruction of the council."