BUSINESS is being lost because of bad spelling on signs put up as part of the new A30 improvement works at Merrymeet Junction, a West Devon bed and breakfast operator this week claimed. John West, who runs St Johns West at Murchington near Chagford with wife Maureen, recently had one couple cancel their stay after getting lost while trying to find their accommodation. John said: ?We were expecting some B & B guests, who were coming from Cornwall. I gave them explicit directions on how to find us. ?They did not arrive, and later telephoned to say that they had looked out for the A382 turn-off, but only saw a sign saying ?Services?, and so had continued down the A30, still looking for the A382. ?By this time they were at Exeter, and decided to stay there rather than turn back.? Mr West said he had visited the site office last week and drew the manager?s attention to the fact there were spelling mistakes on the yellow sign coming from Exeter, which read ?Winkley? instead of Winkleigh, and ?Widdon Down? instead of Whiddon Down. Even after Mr West had pointed these mistakes out, he later noticed the sign coming from Exeter read ?Skiklepath? instead of Sticklepath. Mr West acknowledged the roadworks were ?progressing well? but said he was surprised the contractors had not done their homework before putting up the signage. Mr West said the A382 was the main turning for Chagford, Moretonhampstead, Bovey Tracy and Newton Abbot, not to mention Sticklepath and Throwleigh, and failure to direct people onto the road was costing him business. Mr West said when he pointed out the spelling errors, the site manager had told him ?Our sign man is away on a course for two days but when he comes back. I will draw his attention to it.? Mr West said, ?I asked if it was a spelling course.? He added: ?I would have thought one of the first requisites for a signwriter is to know how to spell, or at least read the correct spelling off a map.? Mr West also suggested that the contractors might scrawl A382 and an arrow on a piece of board and put it up to help people as a short term measure. However, he said he was told that even when new signs were done they had to be approved by the Highways Authority before they could be erected. A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: ?We apologise for the inaccurate spelling of place names on the temporary signs at the A30 Merrymeet roadworks and will be correcting them as soon as possible.?