BUSINESS woman Lisa Francis has accused Wiltshire Council of damaging her business by confiscating a sign she put on a grass verge.

Ms Francis, 42, who has run Wiltshire Fencing and Landscaping in Broadway, Market Lavington, for 11 years, put up the sign after launching a sister business to supply retail and trade from a shop.

She wanted to make sure customers would find it easy to find the new store but Wiltshire Council after just a few weeks of it being erected it was taken down by the council and held at a depot in Devizes.

Ms Francis said: "Since the sign has been removed we have experienced a vast drop in passing trade sales. We had made a big investment in the new store and recruited a manager. When we first opened in March the response from both the trade and public was overwhelming."

She said that the first she knew of a problem with the sign was when the council wrote to her a few weeks ago saying she had 14 days to remove it.

She said: "It was at Blackdog crossroads junction, some meters back from the road as to not cause any obstruction."

After the sign was removed Mrs Francis, who lives in Redsctocks near Seend and employs 20 people in Market Lavington, spoke to a council officer, but did not get a positive answer.

She said: "I pointed out that our passing trade customers have dropped heavily since the sign had been taken down and that a local business cannot sustain this. I employ local people and if the lack of passing trade continues I worry for the future of my business.

"The council is showing now willingness to support local businesses."

Ms Francis said that since the row with the council she has spotted many other signs advertising businesses on verges and pavements and pointed out the large number of general election banners in farmers' fields.

She asked: "If road signs are a distraction, why does the Council sell roundabout sponsorship signs? Surely that's a distraction to a motorist - a business sign on a roundabout?

"I feel let down by the unwillingness to help local businesses who work hard to succeed and are restrained by the local authorities."

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council said: “We received several complaints that the location of this sign was causing a distraction to highway users at this busy junction, and wrote to the company requesting that they remove it.

"This did not happen and the sign was removed and stored securely for collection.

"We are keen to support businesses where we can and offer them alternative solutions, however it is an offence to place a sign on the verge or on highway signage."