Signs asking members of the public to respect teams working on the highways have been brought in, after workers were subjected to abuse from passers-by.

Since the beginning of lockdown, contractors have been allowed to continue with a number of projects on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council.

But it has been reported that a number of teams have been subjected to “adverse comments” from members of the public.

In some cases, people have questioned whether their presence is putting themselves or others at risk. And others have questioned whether the work should be happening at all.

HCC’s executive member for highways Cllr Phil Bibby, stressed that work was only continuing where it was “safe to do so.”

“We are picking sites and work that we can actually do safely,” he said. “We are not going to be putting people on sites where we don’t think they will be able to socially distance.”