By the 1960s they were superseded by the more familiar metal ones we see today in their bold Helvetic typeface and universal corporate style. As they went up council highway divisions were told to do away with the old metal and wood signs pointing the way to distant villages. However, in some areas councils ignored the Government dictate and left them standing, only for them to slowly deteriorate with cash strapped authorities uninclined to even give them a lick of paint.

In Somerset following some stinging criticism from the press and residents after the county council said the signs were a low priority the council has come up with a plan that is seeing the restoration of many of the signs. The Somerset Fingerpost Restoration Project was set up by Somerset County Council and the Southwest Heritage Trust in 2016 to help preserve and protect the signs by asking volunteers from the general public to do the work. Fortunately, residents with a strong sense of civic pride have come forward to clean, restore and paint the signs with the paint and materials provided by parish councils and a variety of sources.

A project on Exmoor saw a near-military operation to complete the task while elsewhere in the county many of the signs have already been returned to their former glory. Mike Neville and Stuart Lawrence, two volunteers from Minehead volunteered to repair and paint the signs on the A39 near their home. Mike Neville says: “I got involved with the project because I wanted to make a difference in my local community and I’d noticed the signs starting to look scruffy. It’s really satisfying seeing them looking all pristine by the side of the road and good to know you’ve done your bit in restoring a local heirloom. I’ve even made a few friends along the way.”

The signs are seen as part of the heritage of the country and add a quirky individual nature to the highways and byways of the land as they vary from county to county. Some have a little finger cut out at the end of the sign and many give the number of miles to villages and towns down to a quarter or a third of a mile.

If only the work of repairing and replacing the lost signs across the country with restored versions could be commissioned and contracts handed out to sign-makers. Volunteers clearly do a good job, but the sign industry needs the work and it would pump cash into rural economies.

Where will it end? Councils to ask the public to put up new signage? Should the Government find a magic money tree and employ hundreds of sign-makers to repair these historic items of street architecture? Email your views to Harry - Harry@linkpublishing.co.uk or call me on 0117 9805 040. Or react to the story on Twitter and have your say.