Drivers could be forgiven for thinking their eyesight has suddenly improved as road signs suddenly appear easier to read in the Tavistock area.

The new-look signs are sprouting up all over the area, mystifying motorists who are, nonetheless, very grateful.

And the mystery has been solved - a human cleaning ‘angel’ is busy popping up on roadsides and junctions scrubbing off accumulated moss, dirt and tree debris.

Allen Lewis, a self-confessed cleaning obsessive is behind the one-man mission to make life safer and brighter for drivers with his long-handled brush and water supply.

Allen, a Tavistock town councillor and local resident, admits to enjoying his volunteer work which is not a council service: “I love cleaning the road signs because I really want the town to look good and if the first thing visitors see is a mucky road sign with the name of the place on it, that gives out the wrong message and might be enough to put them of stopping.

“One of the worst was a big brown tourism sign with all the visitor attractions on, you could hardly read it. Tourism is especially important for the economy in a rural area. We don’t want to miss out, just because visitors drive past simply because they can’t read a sign.”

As a former mounted police officer, road safety is top of Allen’s mind: “It’s also important to keep the chevron signs warning about bends and the speed limit signs clean, so they’re easy to read, especially at night. A clean sign can make the difference between an accident happening or not when drivers have to make quick decisions.”

He gets lots of feedback: “I get lots of appreciation with drivers peeping their car horns, cheers and shouts of support. Although this is not a town council duty, at least it shows that councillors can pull up their sleeves and get things done – things that matter to people and can be seen to make a difference.

“Mind you, I’m easily bored and can’t sit down for long doing nothing, especially if I see something that needs cleaning. I can’t bear seeing dirt and untidiness. When I was a mounted police officer I was always immaculately turned out in uniform.

“I take a lot of pride in my town in the same way and it’s very rewarding when people feel the same way, which makes it feel like a privilege to help the community.”

Allen’s area of cleaning operations is not confined to his hometown, he covers as far as Mary Tavy and Horrabridge, for instance.

He can transform about ten signs on a good day, depending how close they are to each other and how near to vegetation they are: “Trees make signs murky very quickly. I work from the top and let the water run down and soak the rest of the sign. I get torrents of brown water, it’s very satisfying.”

Allen’s public service goes back years when he cleaned about 700 signs during lockdown and to when he set up the community Dog Poo Squad, enlisting locals to clear Tavistock of dog droppings.