Wirral Council rips up its £300,000 'Wotsit Street' road markings in Birkenhead but has not disclosed what the removal cost

Wirral Council has torn up the garish orange squiggles it painted on Grange Road West in Birkenhead last autumn after locals mockingly dubbed the 170-yard stretch 'Wotsit Street'. The £300,000 scheme was meant to create a pedestrian-friendly shopping area but instead became a regional laughing stock, with residents branding it 'gaudy, silly and completely pointless'. Workmen moved in earlier this month to strip the markings, though the council has refused to say how much the removal is costing taxpayers on top of the original bill.

The markings were part of a six-month trial funded by the government's Future High Street Fund, with construction firm Graham awarded £2.9 million for broader Birkenhead revitalisation works.

Birkenhead local Theresa, 68, called the scheme 'completely pointless and a waste of money', while Debbie Taylor said the markings were 'an eyesore' that 'didn't fit in with anything'.

One resident, Vicky, 42, struck a lone dissenting note: 'I'll certainly miss sitting on the benches.'