PEOPLE living in a Worcestershire village say their "beautiful oasis" is being blighted by "eye-sore adverts".

Posters advertising high-speed fibre broadband, which Superfast Worcestershire — a partnership between Worcestershire County Council, BT and the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK — is aiming to bring to 57,000 properties in the county by June next year, have sprung up around the county.

Ian Logan, who has lived in Martley since 1980, says the brightly-coloured adverts splashed across BT boxes in the village are nothing more than "legalised graffiti".

"They popped up recently and myself and a number of other people in the area just think they are horrible and an eye-sore," the 68-year-old said.

"They are insensitive to the surroundings here in Martley, which is a conservation area. They're so bright and garish and are nothing more than legalised graffiti in an otherwise beautiful oasis. A number of us have written to our local councillor and the parish council. We want them taken down.

"We are not against BT or Superfast Worcestershire at all, we just think more should have been done to make sure the posters fit in with the surroundings."

A spokesperson for Superfast Worcestershire said the adverts are "eye-catching" so people are aware of the service.

"We are keen for as many people as possible across the county to reap the benefits of the Superfast Worcestershire fibre broadband roll-out. Keeping local homes and businesses updated about when fibre broadband is available in their area is an essential part of the process — indeed people approach us every day asking for updates, which the project team is happy to provide.

"Covering the new road-side fibre cabinets with these eye-catching stickers is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways of doing that.

"But they are temporary.

"In recent months, Superfast Worcestershire has been approached by dozens of people in the parish of Martley asking to be kept informed about when fibre is going ‘live’ in their area, so this cabinet cover is an effective way of updating lots of local people at the same time.

"The road-side cabinet stickers are not advertisements for any one company or service provider.

"The poster-style covers direct people to the Superfast Worcestershire website where residents and businesses can learn more about faster fibre broadband and the different internet service providers available."