Cambridge University tutor responds to huge "ugly" pole erected right outside the front of his home - by decorating it with a cl

A Cambridge University tutor has responded to a huge, "ugly" parking permit pole erected right outside his home - by decorating it with a clock and bird feeders.

Gordon Chesterman and his wife Dee, both 62, were shocked when they looked out their front window one day last month - and saw the unsightly black pole blocking their view.

But rather than complain, Gordon, a senior proctor at Cambridge University's St Edmund's College, decided to take matters into his own hands in act of what he called "social disobedience".

Just days after the council put up the pole - intended to hold a 'Permit Holders Only' notice - Gordon headed down to his local garden centre and bought some decorative exhaust clamps.

And he quickly set to work affixing them to the top of the black pole - which stands a little over eight foot (2.5 metres) tall - and hanging two bird feeders from it, as well as a double-sided clock/thermometer.

Gordon said: "My wife and I were shocked to see the post being put up right in front of our house about a month ago.

It wasn't even to one side, it was slap-bang in the middle.

"There are other posts like it along the street, but they are all placed in between houses, not right in front of them.

"They have been coming along and putting these tiny, postcard-sized signs on the poles about new residents parking permits down our road - but the one outside our house is still bare.

"Rather than getting angry about it, I thought this is far too good an opportunity to miss.

"Two days after the pole was put up, I got down to our local garden centre and bought these exhaust clamps to go on the top of it.

"Now, thanks to the help of eBay, we have an old clock hanging out there, a thermometer, and a couple of bird feeders." Gordon said his decorations have cheered up neighbours down his street, who stop and admire his handiwork at the top of the pole.

He said: "I was just trying to make the most of what is otherwise quite a dull, intrusive post.

"I wanted to get people smiling, and to add a bit of colour to the poles and the street.

"If you look at all the other posts down the road, they all carry this tiny little sign that barely takes up any space.

"So if any council contractor comes along and says I have to take the decorations down, I shall make a counter-offer and say, 'Give me a sign and I'll put it up myself'.

"I don't have any qualms about introducing residents parking on the street, it's just the poles are quite ugly." And Gordon, who is a keen painter in his spare time, says he and neighbours have already been coming up with ideas about rotating what is hanging at the top of the pole.

He said: "I might change the decorations to make them seasonal.

"Some of the neighbours have been coming up with really creative ideas as to what we could hang up there.

"Someone said they wanted a dovecote, another person suggested a Victorian gas lamp.

"I might put a little Christmas tree at the top in a couple of weeks.

And if it's still going by May, we'll turn it into a Maypole." He added: "I don't think I would have done this had it not been for lockdown.

"But it's been a pleasant surprise for people up and down the street, who all stop to admire it."

A Cambridge University tutor has responded to a huge, "ugly" parking permit pole erected right outside his home - by decorating it with a clock and bird feeders.

Gordon Chesterman and his wife Dee, both 62, were shocked when they looked out their front window one day last month - and saw the unsightly black pole blocking their view.

But rather than complain, Gordon, a senior proctor at Cambridge University's St Edmund's College, decided to take matters into his own hands in act of what he called "social disobedience".

Just days after the council put up the pole - intended to hold a 'Permit Holders Only' notice - Gordon headed down to his local garden centre and bought some decorative exhaust clamps.

And he quickly set to work affixing them to the top of the black pole - which stands a little over eight foot (2.5 metres) tall - and hanging two bird feeders from it, as well as a double-sided clock/thermometer.

Gordon said: "My wife and I were shocked to see the post being put up right in front of our house about a month ago.

It wasn't even to one side, it was slap-bang in the middle.

"There are other posts like it along the street, but they are all placed in between houses, not right in front of them.

"They have been coming along and putting these tiny, postcard-sized signs on the poles about new residents parking permits down our road - but the one outside our house is still bare.

"Rather than getting angry about it, I thought this is far too good an opportunity to miss.

"Two days after the pole was put up, I got down to our local garden centre and bought these exhaust clamps to go on the top of it.

"Now, thanks to the help of eBay, we have an old clock hanging out there, a thermometer, and a couple of bird feeders." Gordon said his decorations have cheered up neighbours down his street, who stop and admire his handiwork at the top of the pole.

He said: "I was just trying to make the most of what is otherwise quite a dull, intrusive post.

"I wanted to get people smiling, and to add a bit of colour to the poles and the street.

"If you look at all the other posts down the road, they all carry this tiny little sign that barely takes up any space.

"So if any council contractor comes along and says I have to take the decorations down, I shall make a counter-offer and say, 'Give me a sign and I'll put it up myself'.

"I don't have any qualms about introducing residents parking on the street, it's just the poles are quite ugly." And Gordon, who is a keen painter in his spare time, says he and neighbours have already been coming up with ideas about rotating what is hanging at the top of the pole.

He said: "I might change the decorations to make them seasonal.

"Some of the neighbours have been coming up with really creative ideas as to what we could hang up there.

"Someone said they wanted a dovecote, another person suggested a Victorian gas lamp.

"I might put a little Christmas tree at the top in a couple of weeks.

And if it's still going by May, we'll turn it into a Maypole." He added: "I don't think I would have done this had it not been for lockdown.

"But it's been a pleasant surprise for people up and down the street, who all stop to admire it."