Blundering council contractors will have to return to Welwyn Garden City next week after twice failing to paint parking restriction lines the right shade of yellow.

The first time county council contractors painted double yellow lines in recently-resurfaced Wigmores North, they broke Conservation Area rules by choosing a deep intense yellow rather than the officially approved primrose.

But after they had repainted the road, the borough council decided it could not legally fine drivers parking or waiting there, as the new cream colour was so pale it was almost white.

Councillor Malcolm Cowan, who sits on both authorities, said: “You don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“The amount of money wasted and the inability to see how different cream is from yellow, you wonder if they should be let out on the streets alone.”

A county council spokeswoman said: “Unfortunately, the incorrect colour was inadvertently used by contractor Eurovia. We plan to rectify this issue and a provisional date of the July 11 has been set to do this.

“This work will be at no cost to Hertfordshire County Council and we hope this matter will be resolved quickly.

“We regret any inconvenience caused to the public by this human error. Our highways contractors undertake hundreds of jobs on the highways each year, the vast majority of which are completed without a problem.”

The borough council confirmed the parking restriction will not be enforcable until the lines are repainted.