Raglan residents were left scratching their heads when carefully-painted double yellow lines appeared overnight on the corner outside the Beaufort Hotel - 24 hours too early for April Fool’s Day.

By Wednesday afternoon, however, they’d disappeared - courtesy of a county council highways team.

Between times there had been much speculation about the identity of the night-time dauber.

But nobody wanted to go on the record and whoever was responsible was, predictably, keeping a low profile.

Future traffic management and parking arrangements in the village, which are being put out for consultation by Monmouthshire County Council, are currently a hot topic in the local community.

Monmouthshire County Council’s Head of Operations Roger Hoggins said, “Many aspects of where and how traffic might be better managed were discussed at a recent exhibition on traffic management and parking options in and around Raglan’s High Street - and this included the junction of Castle Street and High Street,” he said.

“While highlighted as something for further consideration it would appear that someone has decided that double yellow lines are the solution.

“This might be the case but introducing any form of traffic management like yellow lines or restrictions on waiting requires consultation and eventually a traffic order approved by the county council.

“There is no such order to support the double yellow lines outside the Beaufort Hotel so they will be removed while any order is drafted for consultation - if indeed an order is eventually proposed.”