You’re nicked! Someone pinched village ‘traffic cop’

A village 'traffic cop’ was kidnapped this week, but thankfully he has been recovered and is expected back on duty soon!

‘PC’ George, who was coined by fed up residents of Penybontfawr as its ‘trusty village traffic steward’ has been calming traffic speeds in the northern Montgomeryshire village this summer.

George was positioned on the entry point to the village which is on the busy main road north towards Bala from the Welshpool area, and resembled a high-vis policeman with a speed gun.

Villagers said it had made a difference and speeds had noticeably decreased travelling through, making it a safer place.

But this week George was “adducted from his post” and it looked to be a professional job, with wire cutters required to break him free.

“Some mean-spirited individual came in the night or early morning equipped with wire-cutters to remove him from his post under a lamppost on the main road,” said resident, Vic Graham.

“He has been secure there for the last 2 months and working well to reduce the speed of the traffic through the village.”

She said that residents were “very upset and disappointed as he has been so effective at slowing the average speed through the village”.

“On the whole most people driving through were supportive and used to smile and wave or ask if George wanted a cuppa as I relocated him on his trolley.

“However, a car of young men did try to steal him a while back when he was outside a house at the other end of the village. Because he was so well made and chained to the post they couldn’t remove him. So, they punched him in the face and gave the local resident a load of verbal abuse. Hence George was relocated under a lamppost outside the church where no residents would take any further abuse for him.

“Whoever it was that took him this time, they came prepared with wire-cutters as he has been cleanly cut from the trolley and the trolley remained chained to the post.”

After 48 hours of being missing, Vic received a call from the police to say George had been found.

“I had a lovely call from a local police officer to say George was found 15miles away in the middle of the road in Four Crosses. He’s being returned very soon to be back on duty in the village!”