A businessman claims county hall "bureaucrats" are damaging his Christmas tree business by forcing him to remove his roadside signs.

Rob Schroeder says he needs the prominent orange and green boards to guide customers to his remote farm near Maidstone.

The 76-year-old has placed the signs on verges at about 10 locations in the area around his business in Gravelly Bottom Road, Kingswood, for the past four decades.

But he says he has been told by Kent County Council's highways department to take them all down or face a bill.

One councillor branded KCC "killjoys" while another said "common sense should prevail".

Mr Schroeder said: "It's hardly entering into the spirit of Christmas, is it? Just another nail in the coffin of the rural economy.

"I'll have to crunch the numbers, but I think it has adversely affected my business."

Kingswood Christmas Trees has just over a month each year to turn over enough income to support his small year-round staff of five and seasonal crew of 30.

The problems started in November when a neighbour reported seeing a man taking down a sign in Kingswood.

Mr Schroeder realised the rest of the temporary wooden structures had also been removed.

He instructed staff to put them back up but received a call from KCC's highways department to take the signs away or face paying the costs if KCC staff were sent out again.

Mr Schroeder said: "I know that, strictly speaking, KCC was acting according to the rules but it seems strange that this happens when there have never been problems in the past.

"Bureaucrats have obviously sent out the instructions to take them all down.

"But for the past 40 years, I have been growing and selling trees from my farm in Gravelly Bottom Road and KCC has taken a pretty relaxed attitude to the signs, especially since we remove them at the end of business at 4pm on Christmas Eve.

"It's never been a problem before and I have always appreciated that level of help I get as a small business with a tiny, fixed trading window. And these are tough times.

"Our costs have been rising steadily, as they have for our customers.

"It's a profitable business but it's not as profitable as it once was. There are a lot of headwinds at the moment."

He says there are yearly visitors from London and further parts of Kent who make the journey to Kingswood Christmas Trees and rely on the signs to get them there.

Mr Schroeder, who has lived in the area all his life, says the business sells up to 5,000 trees each Christmas.

"It's not the easiest place to find, even for the locals. We are trying to find locations on private property but it's all a bit late now."

Borough councillor Gill Fort, who represents nearby Leeds, said: "KCC shouldn't be such killjoys because this is his living and the living for his employees.

"Clearly someone has complained, perhaps not appreciating that this is a rural business and that's what happens when you live in the country.

"If he has to take his signs down, everyone who uses the roadsides in the same way will have to as well. He only puts them out for a short time each year – let him get on with it."

County councillor for the nearby Maidstone south east division, Cllr Gary Cooke, said he would take up Mr Schroeder's case to see if the decision can be reversed.

He added: "Clearly, the signs should have the right permissions but the same signs have been going up for years and years and years.

"This is the only time of year when Kingswood Christmas Trees can make its money and we are trying to promote the local economy.

"Common sense should prevail and we should show a little Christmas spirit."

While not being able to comment on the specifics of the case, Cllr Neil Baker, cabinet member for highways at KCC, said: "I'll look into this.

"We should do everything we can to support local businesses but we have to ensure the safety of everybody on the highways.

"I will have a word with our highways people and see if a compromise can be found."

A KCC spokesperson said: “We ask for unauthorised signage which causes safety concerns for road users to be removed.

“It’s important for people using our roads to have an uninhibited view.

"Where we have to take action we make extensive efforts to contact the owner of the signage before this is removed.”