IT’S red “faeces” all round after a glaring spelling mistake was spotted on new signs asking dog owners to clear up after their pets.

An eagle-eyed Sussex photographer noticed that the word “faeces”

is spelled “feaces” twice on six new signs at historic beauty spot Cissbury Ring, near Findon.

The signs were installed by Worthing Borough Council in the car park at the site of the largest hill fort in Sussex, which has a history dating back more than 5,000 years.

They say: “This area is the gateway to the South Downs National Park – please ensure you pick up after your dog and places the feaces in the bins provided.

“It is an offence if you allow your dog to foul without removing the feaces straight away.”

The photographer said: “I spent a nice afternoon on Cissbury Ring and spotted a new sign in the car park. What are... feaces?! Dear, dear!”

The council has promised to correct what it describes as a “small spelling error” .

Bestselling Sussex-based novelist Peter James, the author of the Roy Grace series of crime thrillers, said: “It’s very remiss of a council to put up signs with a spelling mistake like that. It doesn’t take much to look in a dictionary.

“Spelling matters enormously.

I am constantly in conversations with grumpy language conservatives who do not believe that language should change.

“But language is always changing – for example, people ask me why a ‘z’ is used in some words, such as realize, rather than an ‘s’, which is one of the differences between English usage in the US and the UK.

“In terms of standards in schools, it is vital that people understand the basics of spelling and grammar, and if you take away the rules of spelling, words and sentences become unintelligible and often meaningless.

“If you took the ‘e’ out of ‘faeces’, for example, dog owners would be taking home faces in a bag.”

A spokeswoman for Worthing Borough Council said: “There are a few signs in the car park with a small spelling error.

“These will be corrected.

“However, we do not think that people will fail to get the important message contained in the notices, which is for dog owners to pick up after their dogs and use the bins that are provided.”

Cissbury Ring, which is run by the National Trust, is one of the best butterfly sites in Sussex and is home to some of the earliest flint mines in the country.