A NEW welcome sign for Portland was secretly erected with highways chiefs left in the dark.

Portland Town Council has been calling for a new sign to be put up at the entrance to the island’s boundaries at Ferrybridge.

But one resident got so fed up with waiting that they knocked one together with a bit of plywood and put it up themselves.

The mystery sign writer also adorned the sign with Portland’s new flag.

Town councillor Neil ‘Chas’ Charlton was overjoyed when he spotted the sign on his way home as he wants visitors to know when they are leaving Weymouth and entering Portland.

He said: “It’s a good sign. Perhaps it will draw attention to things as long as it doesn’t blow over and into the road.

“Good luck to them – but we do need a proper one put up.”

A Dorset County Council spokesman said they were unaware about the do-it-yourself sign.

She said a new sign has been made and agreed with the town council and is expected to go up within a week.

Portland historian Stuart Morris said he believed the last sign was taken down three years ago after being damaged.

He said: “It should have been replaced within a few weeks. Instead, it’s been going back and forth between borough, town and county councils since.

He added: “It could have been anybody who put this sign up because people are upset and fed up about it.”