Phase 3 of ARM's programme of converting illegal metric signs along the Birmingham Canal Network was completed last week.

It may be recalled that the Birmingham Canal Network was funded from mysterious sources to erect hundreds of semi-comprehensible and poorly-designed black-and-white cast iron bollards supposedly informing people how far it is to certain points along the canal.

All the distances were originally signed in 'M' or 'Km'.

ARM supporters have twice amended the distances on some of the bollards.

This time 109 metric distances on 29 bollards were put back into equivalent Imperial distances in miles and yards, using sturdy plastic white plates with black 1"-high lettering, glued on with Flexon HX-20.

This activity is laughingly described on the UKMA website as 'vandalism'. That was not what WPC Nesbitt of West Midlands Police Force thought when she stopped to chat with the two ARM activists who were in the process of glueing on six new Imperial distances to a bollard just east of Smethwick. And she expressed support for the 'metric martyrs' into the bargain.

Of the 109 distances converted to Imperial, 32 were to cover over metric distances which ARM supporters had previously converted, only for the Birmingham Council to come and hack off our plates and reinstate the metric distances.

In addition to the 109 bollard distances converted, 9 other public notices along the canal with metric-only distances on them were covered with adhesive labels stating the correct distances in miles or yards.

In addition, a highways sign just off the A38(M) which said that traffic lights were '50 mtrs' ahead was removed and the Council informed

Further to Tony Bennett's message on this thread, the Council of A.R.M. wishes to notify readers of these bulletin boards that an enquiry has been made by the Birmingham City Council Legal Department to A.R.M. about the alleged illegality of the actions of its supporters.

Further developments will be reported here.