A ROAD sign so rusty it broke off at the base smashing through a car window was not “dangerous enough” to prompt a payout from Essex County Council.

The dead end signed had been marked as needing to be fixed before it caused £1,500 damage to a car belonging to a struggling 76-year-old pensioner.

Alan Boor parked his car outside the entrance of his house on Woodland Avenue, Rayleigh, beside a sign based on the nearby grass verge.

After being alerted by a friend that the sign had fallen down, Alan soon realised the sign had fallen onto the roof rack of his car.

He said: “I looked and realised it had fallen onto my car, smashing my passenger window and denting the door where it was hit.

“I took it to the Nationwide Crash Repair Centre in Benfleet, where they estimated it would cost £1500 to repair the damage caused.”

Unfortunately Alan cannot afford to pay for the repairs to the Nissan Almera and County Hall refused assistance.

Mr Boor said: “This is just money we don’t have.

“It makes me furious that they couldn’t care less and that the sign clearly hadn’t been maintained.

“If it had, the whole thing wouldn’t have fallen. The sign pole is all rotten at the base and is rusty.

“I’m waiting until they admit liability and pay up.”

Following the incident, Alan got in touch with Essex County Council, claiming they should be responsible for paying the repair fee.

The council informed Alan the last routine inspection was carried out on October 24 and it has since been inspected again, while lying broken on the floor, and still declared as safe enough.

A letter from the risk and insurance team at County Hall states: “A post-incident inspection was made of the incident location whereupon the Highways Inspector observed a “no through road” signpost had broken at the base and was lying on the verge with the bottom of the post attached to the stump in the verge.

“A risk assessment was made of the situation but it was not considered to be dangerous.”

During the risk assessment, the fault was given a risk factor of three.Any score below six suggests that it isn’t considered to be dangerous.

The inspector raised a “low priority defect ticket” recommending repairs should take place during the next programme of works.

Section 58(1) of the Highway Act (1980) provides a defence for the Highway Authority to prove it’s taken the reasonable steps to ensure it wasn’t dangerous and was maintained to a reasonable standard.

The letter continued to say: “Essex County Council is unable to offer any compensation whereby there is a legal defence against any such claims.

“It is for this reason that we must confirm that liability in respect of your claim is denied.”

Alan said: “This ancient bylaw is allowing the council to claim immunity from prosecution.”

A spokesman for the council said: “The claimant has written to us raising further points in relation to this matter, therefore we are continuing to investigate the claim.”