Surrey County Council has been forced to install plastic road signs to deter thieves who are thought to have been stealing metal versions for their scrap value.

The aluminium signs have been vanishing from the roadside over the past few weeks including those featuring street names, chevrons and turn signs.

In a bid to deter thieves, Surrey County Council is replacing the 16 missing signs with polycarbonate plastic versions that have no sell-on value.

Around 40 metal manhole and drain covers have also been reported stolen in Surrey over the past few weeks and again it is thought thieves are stealing them for their scrap value. The total cost of replacing these and the stolen road signs is around £16,000.

The signs and covers have been stolen from across Surrey including the towns and villages of Woking, Egham, Chertsey, Camberley, Dorking, Capel and Headley.

Ian Lake, Surrey County Council's Cabinet Member for Transport, said: "This highway robbery is stupid beyond belief. These signs and manhole covers are put there for people’s safety and to steal them for the sake of a few pounds is reckless and irresponsible.

"Money is tight at the council and we shouldn’t have to be paying out taxpayers cash to make up for the actions of a few idiots. This money would be much better spent filling in potholes or on making safety improvements."

Last year the county council revealed that 530 manhole and gully covers were stolen in Surrey in the first six months of 2010 alone. The replacement cost was £160,000 which could have paid for almost 3,000 potholes to be repaired.