Leicestershire Council condemns vandalism of flood gates, which were only installed in December.
The county council says newly installed flood gates on Watery Gate Lane have already been damaged following attempts by motorists trying to access the ford at Thurlaston.
It was only last month that the gates were installed as part of a £65,000 scheme in conjunction with Blaby District Council to deter vehicles from attempting to cross the ford when water levels are too high.
Now the county council is facing another bill to repair the gates.
Each year, a number of drivers, who ignore the warning signs, have to be rescued by emergency services and the council says that, since 2014, more than 20 cars have been involved in rescues from the ford.
"Motorists have been ignoring warning signs and too often try to cross the ford on Watery Gate Lane when the water levels have risen. This leads them to breaking down and either our highways department or the fire service being called out.
We were asked to install these gates by rescue teams who are spending an extraordinary amount of their limited budget and precious time removing cars from Watery Gate Lane. These gates were installed to ensure motorists safety, to already have someone try to use the road when it is dangerous to do so and damage our gate in the process is very frustrating.
It is incredibly dangerous to attempt to cross flood water, even a foot of water can move a car. When we close a road, it is closed for a reason, please find an alternative route."
Trevor Pendleton, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for Highways and Transport.
The flood gates are closed by county council highways’ teams when the ford on Watery Gate Lane reaches a water level which is deemed impassable. The cost of repairing the gates is still being assessed by county council officers and temporary security measures are in place to secure the gate.
Leicestershire County Council News