CYCLE event organisers have defended spray painting route markings on a dale road, saying they were forced to do it because their signboards had been altered to send riders down a dangerous road.
People living near Woodland say the road markings on the brow of a hill along the B6282 are a safety risk and could cause an accident.
Orange paint was used to mark several large arrows and the word “Wiggle” on the road surface during the Wiggle County Durham Dynamo Sportive, which passed through Teesdale on Saturday, May 19.
Amanda Cooper, who lives at nearby Hineden Edge, said: “I don’t mind cycling – it has brought money into the area – but they wouldn’t do it in a town so why do they spray paint roads in the countryside.
“Why just there at the brow of the hill?”
She added that she had seen cars drivers braking to read the markings and this could lead to an accident.
Mrs Cooper said: “They said it was temporary paint but they put it down on Friday and we’ve had two downpours since then.”
She also questioned why the rest of the route was signposted and spray paint was used only at that spot.
However, race organiser Ryan Drummond said they were forced to use spray paint because people had tampered with the signs several times in the run up to the event.
He said: “When it gets to three times over we have to take the necessary precautions. It was a last ditch attempt. It wasn’t just that the signs were removed, the signs had been altered to change the route.
“We had to as a matter of course because we didn’t want to send riders down that road.”
He described the road to Hineden Edge as dangerous for cyclists because of its condition.
Mr Drummond insisted the spray paint would disappear within six weeks of being laid down. About 500 cyclists took part in the event, with about 300 following the longer route that past Hineden Edge. Durham County Council’s highway department was not able to comment as we went to press.
