"I clean road signs in Sheffield myself because I can't stand seeing them dirty"

A mystery good samaritan has started smartening up road signs around Sheffield because he’s had enough of seeing them looking grimy.

The community-minded soul, who lives in Deepcar, wants to remain anonymous as he’s not seeking the spotlight.

But he’s keen to hear from people via local Facebook groups in the north of Sheffield, around Stocksbridge and Deepcar, with suggestions of signs which are in need of cleaning.

“I started doing it because I’d drive past a sign saying something like ‘Welcome to Deepcar’ and see it looking grimy, which doesn’t give a good impression of the area,” he told The Star.

“I thought if the council’s not going to do anything about it then why don’t I. It only takes a few minutes to clean up and it makes the whole area look nicer.

“I find it oddly satisfying, and it winds me up that they are so filthy.

“I have my own cleaning business, cleaning up after fires and flood damage, and I use purified water to clean the signs.

“I only do it if it’s safe to do so. I wouldn’t do it if you had to walk across a dangerous road to get to the sign.

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“People sometimes toot their horn or give me the thumbs up if they see me doing it while they’re driving past.

“It would be good if more people did things like this, whether it’s cleaning signs or planting bulbs to make their neighbourhood look nicer, instead of just moaning about how the council isn’t doing enough.

“If just 10 per cent of people spent only a few minutes each month tidying up the streets around where they live, that would be fantastic. It would make a huge difference.”