COUNTY crusaders swooped yesterday to take down several road signs in a row over historic geographical borders.

Throughout the day, activists from the national CountyWatch group removed about ten signs welcoming motorists to County Durham.

Some were unceremoniously dumped on the ground, while others were moved to where the group believes the true boundaries should be.

Historically, County Durham stretch from the River Tees and ended at the River Tyne, taking in Sunderland, South Shields and Gateshead.

But new boundaries were created as part of the Local Government Act in 1974, meaning several metropolitan boroughs were removed from the county to newly-established areas.

Yesterday, CountyWatch campaigners, some dressed as workmen, removed a number of signs in protest.

Durham County Council, which is responsible for many of the signs, said the group's actions would cost taxpayers hundreds of pounds, and yesterday began putting them back to their original positions.

But CountyWatch secretary Tony Bennett said: "These borders are part of our sense of place and our past. We and many other people have this view.

"We are not doing this just for ourselves. We believe we have large majority support. Our aim is to preserve these wonderful historic counties we have got."

Among the signs removed were those on the A1(M), A67, A617 and A68, which marked the boundary between administrative County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington.

Darlington became a unitary authority in 1997, making it administratively separate from County Durham.

One sign was taken to Piercebridge and placed there.

After removing the signs, the group contacted the county council, telling them of their new locations.

The group has targeted several other areas of the country in the past, including Lancashire, Somerset, Lincolnshire and Warwickshire.

It cites Section 131(2) of the Highways Act 1980, which permits the public to remove signs "not lawfully so placed" on the highway. Only once has the group faced police action, but nobody was charged.

A spokesman for Durham County Council said its boundary signs were legitimate traffic signs under the Traffic Sign Regulations and General Directions 2002.

He said: "No matter how CountyWatch dress up their actions to justify what they have done, it amounts to nothing more than sheer vandalism, no less mindless or anti-social than smashing up bus stops or telephone boxes.

"Their actions are likely to cost council taxpayers hundreds of pounds to put right, so they haven't done any favours for the people of County Durham."

He said that the county council and Darlington Borough Council were likely to seek full payment from the group for any work needed to return the signs.