A LOCAL authority is to remove all its dog-fouling signs from wooden telephone poles amid claims that it put them up without permission.

BT said it has strict rules governing signs attached to its poles because of health and safety regulations, access and the need for regular testing.

They must only be fitted by BT staff, should have no sharp edges and must not impede ladder access or affect the decay of the wood.

As a result, Ryedale District Council, in North Yorkshire, said it will have to take its dog-fouling signs down because it cannot afford the thousands of pounds it would cost to put them right.

Members are being recommended to have the signs, which warn dog owners that they face prosecution if their pets foul verges and footpaths, removed.

Environmental health manager Steve Richmond said the signs were displayed throughout the district after the introduction of by-laws to curb dog-fouling.

"Although most were put on lampposts, a substantial number were placed on BT posts, particularly in villages where no lamp- posts exist," he said.

A BT spokesman said the signs were the wrong height, were fitted in the wrong way and had been fixed without permission.

He said they had met council officials over the issue.

"We are not putting the pressure on and saying this has to be done by a certain time," he said.

However Mr Richmond said: "We offered to refix them in accordance with their specifications, but they insisted it was done by one of their engineers or that one of their engineers was there. We just don't have the budget for that.

"They wouldn't even allow us to put on sticky signs."