A DIY cycle lane has mysteriously appeared on the Old Shoreham Road - with members of the public following the unofficial road markings.

The crooked white line appeared on the busy road in Hove, along the same route as the controversial cycle lane which was removed last month.

Pictures from the scene show cyclists using the makeshift lane, which has been painted sporadically along both sides of the road.

While motorists were today seen abiding by the illicit road markings, believed to have been added during the night.

The council promised to remove the paintwork, warning copycats "not to put unauthorised lining on any roads".

Jeremy and Sarah Horne made a video of the Old Shoreham Road earlier today.

In the video, Jeremy can be heard saying: “Somebody, some vandal, some disgraceful human being to society, has painted a white line on the road.”

The Old Shoreham Road cycle lane was installed at the beginning of the pandemic but proved to be controversial.

Cyclist groups had claimed that the lane was an essential part of the city’s network of bike lanes, while motorists said that the lane was never fully utilised and contributed to congestion along the road.

The lane was eventually removed last month after heated debate among councillors over its future.

However, it has now been repainted by an unknown individual or group of people.

Speaking to The Argus, Sarah said: “Honestly, we were shocked and appalled that someone had gone to such lengths to reverse the decision that was finally democratically made after 16 months.

“This is an illegal act of vandalism that needs to be dealt with by the police.”

After the vote to remove the lane, Green councillors promised to look at further options to improve cycling in the city.

While petition calling for a "permanent, well-planned and high-quality" replacement has attracted more than 800 signatures on the council's website since it was started a fortnight ago.

Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth said that the DIY lane posed a threat to the safety of cyclists.

He said: “Badly painting a cycle lane at a busy junction where all road-users are expecting a different layout is obviously dangerous for cyclists in particular.

“The community at large clearly assumes that an extreme cycling activist is responsible, which further poisons the debate against cycling at a time when we need to be winning people over to the cycling cause.

“Like the Insulate Britain protests, such actions sadly have the opposite effect.”

However, Portslade resident Darren Callow, who cycles with his three-year-old son, said that he "immediately felt safer" after seeing the painted-on cycle lanes.

He said: "Safety is a huge issue - there has been one cycling casualty per week in Brighton and Hove this month.

"There is no question that protected space makes cycling safer."

Chris Williams, spokesman for cycling campaign group Bricycles, said that, while they do not know who painted the lane, it demonstrates that there remains a lot of appetite for cycling.

He said: "The lanes have been painted back on a stretch where they didn't take away a vehicle lane, so removing them was pointless, particularly given that the vehicle lanes are now wider, which encourages speeding.

"Councillors had the option of retaining this stretch while removing the rest, which would have saved the taxpayer £30,000, but they made a politically-motivated decision.

"The laws of physics do not obey politics. A person on a bicycle will always be vulnerable when confronted with tonnes of steel travelling at high speeds."

The council urged people not to take matters into their own hands and add cycle lanes onto the city's roads.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of the white lines that have been drawn on the Old Shoreham Road, and we will be removing them.

“We would urge people not to put unauthorised lining on any roads.”

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