MOTORISTS have been told they can travel up to 60mph on tight country lanes - some of which turn into dirt tracks.

Signs have been put up on narrow streets, tracks and lanes off the A259 coast road between Peacehaven and Newhaven - including tracks which peter out into hills on the South Downs.

Thousands of pounds have been spent on the signs, telling people the national speed limit applies in the area known as Rushy Hill.

People living near the lanes say the signs are a waste of money and think it is unsafe to encourage motorists to drive faster on such narrow and rutted lanes.

The signs are part of an East Sussex County Council initiative to make speed limits in the area more enforcible.

Those unveiled on the main road, one of the busiest in Sussex, now display 40mph.

As part of the speed enforcement programme, a rash of the white and black de-restriction signs indicating there is no speed restriction on roads off Rushy Hill, have been put up.

They cost about £200 each and have even been erected at the tops of roads which are little more than tracks.

Some of them lead nowhere.

Their appearance has angered opposition councillors who accused the county council of wasting taxpayers' money.

David Rogers, leader of the Lib Dem opposition, who yesterday was made an OBE for services to local government, said: "These are unadopted roads, mostly steep and rutted and one even leads to a cycle route. What planet are those who give the go-ahead for such signs on?

"Cars, 4X4s and motorbikes have been given the green light to race at speed down these roads and tracks. Cyclists and residents have been complaining to me about this threat."

Lewes district councillor Marina Pepper said: "These signs are a waste of money. You can't do 60mph down most of these roads without crashing or overturning vehicles.

"It is Highway Code correctness gone mad.

"Many people with properties on the Tudor Rose Park off Rushy Hill were angry at the increased 40mph speed limit and they are incensed that on nearby roads, the go-ahead for vehicles to travel at 60mph has been given."

A spokeswoman for East Sussex said: "The new signs are all part of a scheme to make speed limits in the area more enforcible. It was agreed by East Sussex councillors in August.

"Once we had made it clear what the speed limit was on Rushy Hill, we had a statutory duty to make clear what the speed limit was on side roads.

"It does not mean motorists have to travel at 60mph down these roads."

The signs have been erected at the top of Blakeney Avenue, Outlook Avenue and Chene Avenue, which are all unmade roads with only a few houses on either side.

These routes peter out before they reach the Downs overlooking Newhaven Harbour and are mostly used by a few vehicles a day going to remote properties.