FIRST they put up a sign with the name of the village misspelt.

Then they failed to put up enough signs warning of a 20-mile diversion because of a major road closure.

Now contractors working on one of the busiest routes between Southampton, Salisbury and the West Country have put up signs facing the wrong way round so motorists can't read them.

It is just the latest in a string of complaints from angry drivers facing months of motoring misery in Hampshire.

Motorists already suffering delays because of the M27 roadworks have seen their travelling woes compounded this week by the closure of the A36 at West Wellow for one month.

Northbound traffic is diverted along the M27/A31 to Ringwood and on to the A338 to rejoin the A36 at Salisbury, while drivers heading south must take the A27 to Romsey to join the A3090.

West Wellow Parish Council chairman Veronica Perry said that not only are there too few signs warning of the diversion - and a sign on Monday referred to her village as "West Wallow" - but signs have been put up facing the wrong way round.

She said: "If you're coming on the diversion from Salisbury to join the A27 there are supposed to be signs restricting the weight of vehicles that can go down there. But all the weight restriction signs face the other way, so you can only see them if you're going towards Salisbury from Romsey."

Cllr Perry hit out at contractors for putting up another sign on the A36 so that motorists could not read it and were turning up a narrow country lane.

She said: "I've seen lots of people going down there and scratching their heads because they don't know where to go."

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "We acknowledge there have been some problems with the signs and have asked the contractor to look again at signing problems.

"We have now requested extra signs to be put out to make negotiating the whole thing a bit easier."