The removal of a yellow ‘G-string’ canopy – which cost thousands of pounds to install – has resulted in a council being criticised for “wasting taxpayers’ money”.

The Comet: More than £5,000 was spent to take down the canopy last weekMore than £5,000 was spent to take down the canopy last week (Image: Archant)

The canvas, which was nicknamed the ‘yellow G-string’ when first displayed over Stevenage town centre in 2006, was removed last week at a cost of £5,105.

Its original installation cost £58,000, using money donated by ASDA as part of a larger £850,000 grant, to improve links from the superstore to the town square.

Cllr Robin Parker, leader of the Stevenage Liberal Democrats, said: “It was too thin, too high up and too irregular in shape to be a shelter from rain. It had discoloured and deteriorated further in recent years and was a real eyesore.

“Although this blot on the landscape had gone, it has swallowed up a total of £63,000 of council funds, which could have been used on more beneficial purposes for the residents and council taxpayers’ of Stevenage. In the current economic climate, this is a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Residents were also criticial of the amount of money spent on the canopy.

Jack Camp, 37, said: “It served no purpose in being there. You might as well put a sleeping bag on your head. That would be more use.”

Wayne Truett, 32, said: “The council keep on wasting money on things they don’t need. It could have been spent it on something far more useful.”

Terry Adams, 39, said: “It was a waste of money in the first place, no one even knew it was up and all of a sudden its come down.”

A spokesman for the council said: “The fabric on the yellow canopy in Stevenage Town Centre has been deteriorating. The most cost effective solution has been to remove it. The contractors cost totalled £5,105.”