A matter of days after the Princess of Wales admitted to editing some of her photos, Hertfordshire County Council has had to admit to using photos taken elsewhere in the country.

The council's Active Travel Strategy document outlines actions to meet the council's ambition to increase walking, cycling and wheeling in the county.

But when it was presented to the latest meeting of the highways and transport cabinet panel, Liberal Democrat Stephen Giles-Medhurst questioned whether all the images had been taken in the county.

Now council officials have confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting  Service that TWO images in the public document feature scenes that are NOT in Hertfordshire.

The first is an image of two men pushing prams over a zebra crossing. And the second is a signpost, that is believed to have been snapped in Suffolk.

A spokesman for the county council said the "stock" images had been used to illustrate particular signage and works to improve cycling and walking.

And he said that the use of the images did not detract from the aims of the strategy.

But Cllr Giles-Medhurst – who believes the zebra crossing may be in a seaside resort – believes images taken in Hertfordshire should have been used.

And he has appealed for council documents only to include images from the county.

"If we are going to be publicity promoting what we are doing in Hertfordshire, the photos need to be from Hertfordshire," he told the LDRS.

"We shouldn't be using stock images. We should be able to use local images."

During the meeting of the cabinet panel, head of road safety and active travel Rory McMullan had acknowledged that there may be some images that are "not necessarily from Hertfordshire" – but which "are trying to portray best practice".

And confirming the use of images from elsewhere in the country, a spokesman for the county council later told the LDRS: "Our active travel strategy outlines ways in which we as a county council are doing more to encourage residents and businesses to seek more sustainable modes of travel, particularly for the many short journeys that are undertaken by car across the county each day.

"Within the strategy document, two images have been used which we know not to have been taken in Hertfordshire.

"The intention was to use these stock images to illustrate certain signage and works to improve cycling and walking.

"The use of these images does not detract from the aims of the strategy and we encourage residents interested in learning about what we are doing to visit www.Hertfordshire.gov.uk."

At the meeting, councillors were asked to endorse the final version of the council's Active Travel Strategy, which had been subject to public consultation in the summer (2023).

The strategy outlines actions to meet the council's ambition for a county where walking cycling and wheeling are so safe and convenient that they become the natural choice for short trips.

It catalogues the barriers to active travel and the benefits, including health, environment and reduced congestion.

As part of the summer consultation, the council received 710 responses and 2000 comments. More than 80 per cent of the responses were said to be in support of the proposed vision.

This was followed by a YouGov survey of 1500 Hertfordshire residents. And the results showed similar levels of support for walking and cycling.

The strategy was endorsed by the meeting of the highways and transport cabinet panel – and on Monday (16 March) it was then approved by a meeting of the council's cabinet.