New signs signalling a little-known hamlet on the A120 have been ridiculed.

The signs, pointing out that you are driving through Surrex Hamlet, east of Coggeshall, near the Houchin’s Lane junction, were installed last week after Witham MP Priti Patel called for safety improvements.

She felt the measure, which aims to make people aware that there are junctions nearby, could save lives.

It comes after a lorry pushed a Volkswagen Golf underneath a HGV in front, which in turn collided with two other cars, on the road on December 9.

However, Graham Butland, leader of Braintree Council, described the signs as “nonsense”.

He said: “I have just seen them and I am flabbergasted.

“At first I thought they had misspelt Essex."

See this week's Braintree and Witham Times for the full story.