The St Peter Port lane runs between Le Vauquiedor and Richmond Avenue, and was a notorious short cut until it was made a prohibited street in 2020.

Now the only access is to pedestrians, cyclists, and for motorists to access the handful of private properties.

But the installation of the parish planters in the street on Wednesday caused confusion, with St Peter Port senior constable Zoe Lihou saying she only found out when she started being tagged on social media.

She then arranged for them to be removed at 7.30am yesterday morning.

‘I’ve spoken to the parish ground staff and they did not put them there, it seems this was over-zealous workers from Traffic & Highways,’ she said.

‘There had been some communication with that department about the planters, but we didn’t sign it off.’

There were 12 black parish planters at Candie Cemetery, which are being planted up by Grow Ltd for the parish, and two of the planters were taken.

Mrs Lihou said installing the planters in the road would not be something they would want to do, as there would be safety concerns.

‘It’s a dark road – you’d need lighting, or fluorescent strips to show they were there.’

Investigations confirmed THS was behind the installation, which it stated it did after consultation with residents.

A spokesman said residents said the street was still being used as a cut-through, with 17 drivers being issued with Fixed Penalty Notices in June for using the street.

‘It was agreed that planters would be used to prevent vehicle access while allowing good access for cyclists and pedestrians,’ the spokesman said.

‘However, due to operational delays, it has taken several months to get these planters relocated.

‘As a result there has been confusion for road users and for parish officials, and THS apologises to those who were not expecting the installation of the planters overnight.’

Local resident Robert Lesbirel said the flower planters had appeared on Wednesday.

‘They just appeared yesterday, I saw them in the afternoon,’ he said.

‘The States had been working at the end of the road last week and I thought it was something to do with that. I thought it was a bit foolish to put them there.’

Mr Lesbirel said that the road was much quieter than it used to be since the traffic restrictions were introduced.

‘There’s been talk of them putting in bollards at the end of the road, and that’s what I thought they were doing. I think bollards are unnecessary, they just need a police presence every now and then to issue a decent fine.’

In general, Mrs Lihou was supportive of traffic-calming measures but was unsure why THS had targeted this road.

‘We have been asking for them in Amherst Road near the school,’ she said, ‘There are far more troublesome spots than this posh lane.’

THS officers are now engaging with stakeholders to confirm whether the desire for the installation is still there.