A VOLUNTARY steward at the Lawrence House Museum in Launceston has hit back at Cornwall Council officials who told her colleagues to remove temporary signs directing people to the museum, or face a possible fine.

Cherry Warne has been a voluntary steward at the museum for half a day a week since March.

She told the 'Post' that Launceston has the good fortune to have the museum as one of its attractions, both for townspeople and tourists alike, and she noted that it has been described by one of its Australian visitors as "a little jewel."

However, Cherry said the only problem is that if people don't know where it is located, they may have difficulty finding it.

"There is a brown tourist sign on the A30 and, in the town itself, some rather splendid street furniture finger posts painted black with gold lettering. Unfortunately, the gold lettering is now faded and you have to be a giant to see the finger posts. Apparently, because there are no pavements in the roads leading to the museum, formal permanent signs giving directions are not allowed."

In April, Cherry made some signs on her computer saying that the museum was open, and several businesses in Launceston have kindly displayed them.

The following month she took it a step further, and made some signs, this time giving directions to the museum, and had them laminated and 'fly posted' them around the town.

She added: "In the course of doing this, I was caught, in flagrante, by member of the town council to whom I promised that I would replace any that became tatty and make sure that all the signs were removed at the end of October when the museum closed for the winter. In the course of posting in my notices, I removed all the old cable ties and bits of string used by previous fly posters.

"I was aware that what I was doing was illegal but I thought that, in this case, a blind eye might be turned. The museum is after all run by the town council, is non-profit making, and is there for the instruction and delight of young and old."

Some of Cherry's signs disappeared and she went round again, removing, as she had promised, the signs that had failed and replacing those that were missing.

Coincidentally, the museum started doing a survey, to help them with publicity for next year, asking visitors how they had heard about the museum. Quite a large number said they had seen a sign in the town as they were passing through.

On Tuesday, September 8, Cherry's fellow stewards on duty were visited by an official of Cornwall Council who, unable to speak to the curator, informed them that they faced a fine of a thousand pounds if the signs were not removed by the following day. Cherry later went round the town and removed the signs.

She told the 'Post': "Yes, I know rules is rules. Yes, I know if you make an exception for one, you have to make an exception for all. However, given that my signs were merely directions about how to get to the town museum, I really do think a bit of common sense and selective blindness might have been applied.

"I now intend to ask as many businesses in the town who will take them, to display identical direction signs to the ones I have removed from now until October 30 when the museum closes for the winter."

It is free to visit the museum, which is open Monday to Friday from 10.30am to 4.30pm. It will be open on Saturday, September 26 for visitors who can't normally come in the week.