BLUNDERING contractors installed a charging point for electric cars on a road with double yellow lines so it was impossible to use.

The charger was placed on the wrong lamp post in Elm Grove, Brighton, near the corner of De Montfort Road.

Anyone who tried to use it to charge their car would have blocked off traffic and risked getting a ticket in the process.

The Argus: Credit Heide BrownCredit Heide Brown

Heide Brown, who lives nearby, said: “When I saw it I just thought ‘what a waste of money’.

“I’ve no idea what the council were thinking.”

Photos of the charging point were posted on social media with bemused residents struggling to work out why it had been placed there.

Usually, electric car charging points have a bay next to them so drivers can park their car while topping up the battery.

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However, anyone who used this charger could have faced a fine for breaching parking restrictions.

The charger was also close to a traffic island so that stopping to use it would have made it difficult for any other vehicle to get past.

Brighton and Hove City Council yesterday apologised and said the contractor would be removing the charging point “at their expense”.

A council spokesman said: “The charger in Elm Grove was placed on the wrong lamp post in error by our contractor.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

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Last month, it was announced that a further 40 electric car charging points would be installed in Brighton and Hove in the coming weeks.

This was part of a council project to make more than 200 charging points available to motorists.

There is also a 50 per cent discount on resident parking permits offered to those driving eligible low-emission vehicles.

Eighteen mandatory electric vehicle parking spaces have been marked in Brighton and Hove.

Any non-electric vehicles found to be parking in these spaces could be slapped with a penalty charge notice.