NEWPORT is a city where the streets have no name. More than 250 residential street signs have been stolen or vandalised. The result is confusion for residents, visitors, taxi drivers and delivery vans.

Aubrey Hames Close, off busy Cardiff Road, was named after the late council leader. The council has not replaced two signs that have been missing for years.

Resident Jane Edwards, a dinner lady, said: "It's a nightmare. Taxi drivers get lost and friends who want to come and visit have to phone for directions. How can they get here if they don't know where they're going?" And Berty Reynolds, 57, of Maesglas, who was visiting family, said: "When my daughter had her baby the ambulance had a job finding her.

"It's a dangerous turning off a bus lane. Drivers can't hang about trying to work out what street this is. And if you miss it, it's a long way before you can turn back.

"It's ironic the council named it after their leader but then can't make sure it stays named."

Daughter and resident Claire Jones said: "It makes life very hard for visitors and I worry about the emergency services finding us." Across Newport signs are missing or damaged, including: Dolphin Street in Pill; Old Cardiff Road and Maesglas Road in Maesglas; and Tamar Close and Windrush Close in Bettws.

At a full council meeting Councillor Ron Jones, cabinet member for transport and sustainable development, came under fire from several councillors over the missing signs.

Councillor Margaret Cornelious, who works as a pharmacist, said she often gets lost trying to deliver vital drugs in Newport.

She said: "Even with a map it can be very difficult to identify a road, especially once it gets dark. These signs must be replaced."

Councillor Jones said that 100 of the 250 signs had been vandalised and added: "We are looking at the possibility of resiting signs on the sides of buildings, or in a position where they cannot be vandalised."

The council has put aside £25,000 to replace signs across the city this year. Each sign costs an average of £130 to replace, meaning the council plans on tackling around 200 sites.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Fire Service said: "Street signs are useful but not essential. Many of our engines have a mapping system. All have detailed paper maps and local knowledge."