Pointing out the bleedin' obvious

A police service has been criticised for using blindingly obvious messages in its campaign posters. "Don't Commit Crime" is stated on one of Hertfordshire Constabulary's posters - "All fuel must be paid for" has been added on posters at petrol stations.

Language watchdogs the Plain English Campaign said the notices were funny, but an insult to people's intelligence. Herts police defended the notices saying the obvious was worth stating if it had any impact on crime.

A police spokeswoman said: "We are not saying it is going to stop hardened criminals but it may make someone who is nervous think twice."

The campaign group described the signs as examples of "talking in a vacuum". "These signs and notices are the opposite of gobbledegook. The 'best' one I have come across was a sign reading 'Caution: Water on road during rain'," a campaign spokesman said. "They assume a lack of intelligence on the part of the reader - 'Do not commit crime. Pay for fuel' is hardly a deterrent to a criminal who has every intention of driving off without paying, and is merely an aggressive reminder to everyone else.

"I think the phenomenon comes from a combination of branding and PR spin, combined with the obsession companies have with covering themselves.

"We've all seen pointless notices."