POLITICAL activists in St Ives have been told not to replace election posters at the roadside.

As highway authority for roads in the area, Cambridgeshire County Council also owns the verges. It must remain politically neutral at election time.

A spokesman told The Hunts Post yesterday (Tuesday): “After being contacted by Huntingdonshire District Council we removed a handful of posters from highways land which had been put up by more than one political party or campaign. Some of these posters re-appeared, and we have now spoken with the people responsible and they have agreed to remove them.”

Most roadside advertising, even on private land, requires a form of planning consent. But election posters are exempted from fly-posting laws, though they must be removed within 10 days of the announcement of the election result, HDC elections manager Laura Lock said.