A Merseyside man’s amazing selflessness has spurred him to travel around his borough cleaning up some of its filthiest street signs.

Tony Tone, who is from Wirral, started his one-man scheme having become fed up of seeing the council-owned signs covered in mud and grime.

So Tony, who is from Bromborough, decided that alongside his job as a window cleaner, he would give his spare time to helping the community by sprucing up some of the dirtiest signs he could see.

It started in his local area, with the signs on Eastham Rake in Eastham and Brookhurst Avenue in Bromborough the first to be given a thorough sprucing.

Tony, 42, said: “I’m not one for sitting around. So on my days off, I will go and do a couple of them. They take about five to 10 minutes depending on how bad they are, but I did it to help the community – as a kind of feel-good factor.

“I just wanted to make a little change, and if it inspires others to do the same and has some sort of knock-on effect, then all the better.”

The Eastham Rake sign that Tony has now cleaned up

Tony, who runs Online Window Cleaning Services, is now asking Wirral residents for suggestions of street signs in need of TLC near them, which they can do by visiting his firm’s Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/youvebeenframedwindowcleaning/

Tony said the idea came after he decided he wanted to make a difference, and that cleanliness of signs had got worse in recent times.

“Last week, I was driving around the borough and saw that all of the street signs are dirty and broken. I was going to speak to the council and ask if they could get a contractor to come and sort them but I decided to do a couple myself.

“[The signs are] definitely getting worse. I think they’ve got this bad because of local councils – they are not doing much but it’s hard for them because of funding cuts and not much money available. I know they are trying their best.”

Tony’s Facebook posts have received hundreds of likes and shares, with friends and residents praising his kindness – and suggesting signs near them that could do with a clean.

“I didn’t think I would get that much good feedback, and I’m not going to stop here. I’ve had a good response from my family and friends too – they’re being really nice and know it’s something good for the community,” he said.

When contacted for comment, a Wirral council spokeswoman said: “The cleaning of road signs is a service provided by the council, but it is dependent on resources and other highways priorities.

“Residents can report road or street cleaning issues via our website.”