Red-faced highways bosses have patched up a road sign which had been directing baffled motorists to a non-existent seaside town.

It followed the erection of a new sign at the top of Clapham Hill in Whitstable yesterday, pointing traffic to Horse Bay - instead of Herne Bay.

The blunder has sparked accusations of incompetence and waste by Kent County Council, which has just announced it wants to hike council tax by 5%.

Now chiefs have removed the sign to be corrected - at cost of £500.

But the sign also caused much amusement in the town having been snapped by Phil Webb, of Oak Apple Landscapes, and posted on the Herne Bay Chatter Facebook page.

It was later shared by Iain Heatlie on the Overheard and Seen in Whitstable...anything goes Facebook page.

It was initially greeted with some incredulity by readers who thought it might have been Photoshopped.

But catering manager Mr Heatlie, 57, assured them it was true, adding: "They had one job to do. I can only imagine spell check might have something to do with it.

"It might be funny but it's still a waste of money which the council says it hasn't got much of right now."

The responses included: "OMG that's brilliant. That is the new official name for the bay now."

Another quipped: "I bet whoever done that will have a long face when they're told to go back and change it and for causing a bit of a stir in the neyyyybourhood.

"Don't worry guys it won't be like that furlong. They must of been horsing around when putting the sign up."

A Kent County Council spokesman said: "Unfortunately a new sign at the top of Clapham Hill in Whitstable was found to have the wrong wording.

"We will today (Tuesday) be temporarily patching the sign with the correct wording and a permanent patch will then be fitted."

Read more: All the latest news from Herne Bay

Read more:All the latest news from Whitstable