A CHEEKY prankster has been sticking pictures of a popular TV chef to new road signs in Bournemouth.

Pictures of Ainsley Harriott have appeared on the signs on Talbot Avenue near Bournemouth University and have attracted attention on social media.

The eye catching yellow signs have been put in place by Bournemouth Borough Council to encourage drivers to leave a safe distance between their vehicles and cyclists using the busy Boundary Roundabout and Talbot Roundabout.

They depict a car alongside a cyclist along with the words “look out for cyclists” and advise drivers to leave a distance of 1.5metres between their vehicles and people using bikes.

A cut out of the former Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook and Ready Steady Cook presenter’s head has been stuck onto the signs, with the well-known TV personality appearing as both the cyclist and the driver.

Bournemouth council said it would be removing the stickers.

Claire Heaton, senior road safety officer, said: “We are aware that the cycle safety signs near the university have been defaced with stickers and they will be removed as soon as possible.”

A new link road between Bournemouth University's (BU) Talbot Campus and Boundary Road roundabout opened in February.

A spokesperson for the university said work to build a fourth arm on the roundabout was carried out to take traffic away from Boundary Road and make for a “smoother journey and cleaner air in the vicinity."

The road provides an access route into the Talbot Campus for university buses, which are using a newly-opened bus hub.

In February, a new cycle lane around Bournemouth University left some cyclists puzzled, with one short section appearing to take riders straight into a lamp post.

Another lane, which dissolved into nothing before merging with traffic on a bend was described by the former president of Bournemouth Cycle Forum Mike Chalkley as "ridiculous".