In poor visibility one morning last October, I ran over a temporary traffic lights sign lying, almost invisible, in the mud on a narrow country road. It sprang up and damaged my car. My insurers arranged for my car to be repaired, but I have had to pay a £400 insurance excess and buy a new tyre.

Whose responsibility is it to ensure that such signs are not left lying about in the carriageway, and could they be liable to pay my insurance excess and new tyre cost? I reported the danger to Suffolk Police the same day that my car was damaged, fearing that other road-users might suffer a similar fate or, if a motorcyclist were to hit the sign, worse.