Birds, wildlife, rolling fields – all things you would expect to see on a walk through a national park… a lollipop man wielding a giant stop sign is not.

But that is exactly what ramblers in Midhurst, West Sussex were confronted with on Monday.

In a bizarre scenario, walkers visiting the Cowdray Estate were stopped in their tracks by a man wearing a bright orange jacket, ear defenders and holding a big red stop sign.

They were also greeted by a notice reading: ‘Temporary Footway Closure. Pedestrians Wait Here.’

The lollipop man was there to prevent people from getting too close to some strimming work that was taking place nearby.

Walkers were asked to stop at the sign and wait for it to change, however, most didn’t bother to hang around and simply took a wider route around the work.

Many were left confused by the situation and one walker was so perplexed they decided to take a photo which they then shared on social media.

The rambler, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘They were strimming some areas. Health and safety has in my opinion on this occasion gone a bit far with the stop-go lollipop.

‘They probably would have had to stop strimming had I walked past but I took a different path.’

The walker wasn’t the only one to be amused by the measures, with dozens commenting on the ‘ridiculous and absurd’ scene while asking if it was a joke.

Barry Cartwright said: ‘This has got to be a wind-up.’

Emma Custon agreed: ‘This must be a joke, surely?’

Another said: ‘The stop and go lollipop is a tad over the top.’

But Paul Wilkinson pointed out the precaution was to prevent legal action.

He said: ‘If you walked past and debris was flung into your eye would you then sue the contractor? Sadly, many would.’

The Cowdray Estate is a country house and 16,500 estate in the South Downs National Park.

A spokesperson for the national park emphasised it was not behind the work but understood why precautions had been taken.

She said: ‘There’s very heavy foot traffic in that area and people let their dogs off their leads. If anything were to happen they would be liable.’

West Sussex County Council and Midhurst Town Council said they had no knowledge of the work.

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