THERE have been some odd things going on in Ludlow including some rather odd signage.

Scarecrows also started to appear in the town centre.

In preparation for the reopening of most of the shops in the town, Shropshire Council fixed signs around Ludlow town centre promoting Covid-19 social distancing.

Two days later, some had been defaced and many had been removed.

Others had been covered over with Covid-19 conspiracy messages. Guerrilla signage promoted the “Shropshire Corona Resilience Network” with the message ‘Fraud Pandemic.’

There was considerable confusion over the Covid-19 signs which have banned parking on Events Square. The signs read: “No parking enforcement in operation.”

They should have read: “No parking. Enforcement in operation.” For want of a stop, a message was lost and parking fines were issued.

“I think we are all going a bit mad during lockdown,” said Andy Boddington, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow North.

Nothing is madder than stealing scarecrows from Knowbury and planting them at random locations around the area, including The Buttercross.

“They were a children’s project. That’s where what might have seemed to be a good joke turns sour.”

Mr Boddington said that there had been a lot of debate about the signs, the need for them and how many there should be.

“We have had a debate over how many Covid-19 signs we should have and where they might be placed in Ludlow,” he said.

“But it is wrong that signs are defaced, especially when the defacers seem to want to promote conspiracy theories arguing that Covid-19 is a fraud pandemic.

“A fraud? Tell that to the families of the 371,000 people who have died around the world. Tell that those mourning the 50,000 people who have died in the UK.

Shropshire Council has been removing the guerilla signage and replacing vandalised signs. The police are treating these acts as theft and vandalism.

As for the scarecrows, young people in Knowbury have been busy making them.

Several of these were removed overnight and moved to locations like the Linney and the Buttercross.

“I understand they have since been repatriated,” said Mr Boddington, who thinks it was done as a joke. “When all this is over, we will have time to play practical jokes without increasing the risk of transmission.”