GHOSTWALKER Trevor Rooney claims his business has been damaged after York council officials confiscated two A-boards advertising the start of his evening walks.

Mr Rooney said he had been given no prior warning and, when he turned up in Stonegate to find no signs and no customers, he thought at first that the boards had been stolen.

“They had just disappeared from outside Ye Olde Starre Inn and the junction with Petergate,” he said.

“We had a look round to see if someone had chucked them in a passageway but couldn’t find them so I rang police to report they had been stolen.”

He said North Yorkshire Police called back later to say City of York Council had taken the boards because of obstruction issues, and it was not considered a theft because there was no intention to permanently deprive him of them.

However, more than a week later, and despite repeated complaints to the council, they had still not been returned, and he had found them being stored in a highways depot in Foss Bank in a damaged condition.

He said the loss of the boards had had a disastrous effect on his business.

“Tourists don’t know where to go to start the walks,” he said. “No one’s been turning up so I’ve had to cancel them.”

Mr Rooney said he had now sent an invoice to the council for more than £1,000, relating to the loss of the boards and lost business.

He warned that if the authority refused to pay up and return the boards, he would refuse to pay his council tax.

“York needs tourism, so why does the council want to damage businesses like mine that cater so well for the tourists?” he asked.

Dave Carter, the council’s head of network management, said: “Instances like this are exactly why the council is reviewing its A-board policy. These signs were placed in the middle of the footway and were causing an obstruction for pedestrians and wheelchair users.

"We’ve taken enforcement action on Mr Rooney before for the same reason and have written and spoken to him to explain the reasons for this action.”