An incorrect sign on East Hampshire’s busiest road has left staff at a petrol station with a short fuse.

Staff at Liphook Shell on the northbound A3 want to socket to National Highways as two signs advertising EV charge points have been erected on the approach.

That’s because the northbound service station doesn’t have charge points – as they’re on the other side on the road at the southbound garage.

“We get a lot of people asking where the charging point is, and we have to tell them it’s on the other side of the road,” said an exasperated member of Shell Liphook.

“This is not ideal from a customer’s point of view, as the last thing you want to hear when your vehicle is low on charge is that there’s no charger at the location indicated.

“Customers often assume that, because it’s a sign for a Shell garage, the sign's misplacement is Shell’s responsibility, but it’s responsibility of National Highways.

“It’s really frustrating for us, as we didn’t put the sign there and had no idea it existed until customers started asking about it."

National Highways have acknowledged the error and plan to cover the EV charging symbol on the two signs until one is installed, possibly later this year.

A spokesperson said: “The Liphook NB Services used to have an EV charging facility before the McDonald’s was constructed around late 2022 and early 2023.

“For some reasons, the electric charging facility was removed. As far we’re aware, Liphook Services is planning to install the electric charging facility in 2026.

“The plan is to cover the symbol on the two new signs with a temporary protective film which can be peeled off in the future once the Liphook Services have installed the electric charging facility on site next year.”