Cleethorpes guesthouse owners' fury as tourist sign is stolen

ANGRY guesthouse owners have slammed the "disgusting" theft of a brown tourist sign which directs visitors to their establishments.

The sign was installed on Isaacs Hill in Cleethorpes by the council last year, pointing members of the public towards the three guesthouses on nearby Grant Street.

Although the sign was not installed at their request, the B&B owners say it has succeeded in directing tourists unable to find a room on Isaacs Hill itself to their door, as well as helping guests who have already booked to find their destination.

But now the sign, which was installed at the junction with College Street, has gone – having been removed sometime within the past week.

It comes almost exactly a year after a similar but smaller sign was taken from the junction of College Street and Cross Street.

A replacement has since been installed, but at a different angle, meaning it is no longer visible from the High Street.

Gill Borg Fenech, owner of Amber Guesthouse, said: "There are three guesthouses on Grant Street and we are all furious. We are in the busy season and people coming up Isaacs Hill won't know we are here.

"It just lets people know that if Isaacs Hill is full there are guesthouses at the bottom. And it's really useful for people who have booked in advance.

"I think it's disgusting that people are removing signs at their own will. It is a criminal offence."

Mary Daramola, owner of M&J Guesthouse, said: "I don't know why anyone would do this, but it's not the first time. The sign lets people know you can go through College Street to Grant Street. It is there for descriptive purposes.

"Without the sign sometimes we have to come down to Isaacs Hill to pick guests up."

A spokesman for North East Lincolnshire Council confirmed that the missing sign has been reported to the highways department and that the authority would look into the possibility of replacing it.

Anyone with information about the theft should call Humberside Police on 101, quoting log number 440 of Friday, July 18.

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