CAR park information signs in Dorchester, which have not worked properly for years, are likely to be switched off.

Town councillors will tell Dorset Council it is not prepared to chip in and meet part of the estimated £100,000-plus cost of bringing the electronic signs up to date.

They have been told that part of the problem has been caused by poor mobile phone signals in some areas of the town and an inability of sensors at some car park entrances to work out whether a vehicle is entering or leaving, or how many are left parked overnight, giving an incorrect figure for the start of the day.

The result, for years, has been displays about how many empty spaces there are in each car park being out of kilter with reality. In some cases Dorset Council has opted not displayed the figures at all, listing car parks as "busy", or "open."

Said town councillor Janet Hewitt at a Monday evening meeting: "They have never worked the whole time they have been in place. There has been problem after problem and we've been asking for years to get them right."

Cllr Stella Jones

Cllr Stella Jones told the meeting the best solution would be to switch off the electronic displays altogether because the information was meaningless.

"For ten years we have been talking about this… you don't need the numbers, you could switch them off and keep the signs," she said.

Other councillors agreed, Cllr Fiona Kent-Ledger saying that even if the town council did make a contribution to the £100,000-plus upgrade for the signs, they might still be wrong.

"Let's not waste any more time, money, or effort… rather than make a financial contribution let's just ask Dorset Council to turn them off."

A Dorset Council spokesperson said: "The signs are now quite old and, with some of the units beginning to fail, we are exploring a range of options.

"Bringing the signs up to modern standards would require significant investment, so we need to carefully consider whether it would be more appropriate to decommission them altogether.

"We understand the concerns about the accuracy of the information displayed and are seeking to find the best solution."