Badgers cause traffic chaos after council brings in temporary lights

June 30, 2021 Ava

Badgers have caused 18 months of traffic chaos after a council was forced to bring in temporary lights when the animals dug a sett next to a country road.

Drivers were left confused by the traffic signals placed on a 200ft stretch of Swallow Hill in Thurlby, Lincolnshire, despite no roadworks in sight.

But Lincolnshire County Council has now revealed the lights were set up after badgers burrowed a sett beneath the carriageway, leaving one side ‘unsafe’ for traffic to pass over.

The Badger Protection Act 1992 forbids interference with badgers or their setts until a licence is granted by the government body Natural England, with offenders risking a fine of up to £5,000 for each badger or sett affected.

However, the licence can only be provided between July 1 and November 31 because badgers use setts for breeding and raising young in the winter and spring.

The local council had applied to move the animals last year but the work was not approved in time, so it is instead being carried out this year from August.

Load Error

How badgers are protected by the law

Under the Badger Protection Act 1992, it is illegal in England and Wales to:

Exceptions to the above include, for example, obtaining a licence to disturb a badger sett if it is on a proposed site for a road or housing development.

Source: RSPCA

Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said in a statement: ‘One side of the road here has become unstable due to badgers burrowing a sett beneath the carriageway.

‘This has made that side unsafe to have traffic pass over, so we have had to put in temporary lights to allow vehicles to pass single file.

‘We are arranging with Natural England to move the badgers on safely; this work is only allowed to be carried out at certain times of the year.

‘Once they have been relocated we will repair the damage underneath the road and reopen it.

‘Thanks to residents for bearing with us whilst temporary lights have been in place.’

One local became so infuriated that they erected their own sign demanding to know the reasoning behind the traffic lights, reported the Rutland and Stamford Mercury.

Thurlby Parish Council clerk Bernard Champness said: ‘It seems like an eternity.

‘It’s not a busy road, but when you use it regularly it can be a pain.’

South Kesteven District Councillor Robert Reid, who undertook the case, said the traffic lights will have been in place for ‘getting on 18 months’.

He added: ‘But Lincolnshire Highways have assured me the consent is in place and remedial work should begin by the end of July.’

Source: Thanks msn.com