A frustrated Santa Venera resident who accused workers of being a “bunch of idiots” after they wrote “Slop” instead of “Stop” on the road was cleared of threatening them.

The incident happened on January 7 last year, when workers turned up outside the house of Peter Bonavia, 64, to paint some road markings.

While garaging his car he realised he left a trail of tyre marks and then noticed that workers had painted over newly-painted yellow lines by using black paint that was still fresh.

He sprinkled sawdust over the wet paint. The following day, when he arrived home, he realised the same thing had happened again: the workers had been sent back to repaint the area.

Workers testified in court that Mr Bonavia told them: “Mind you dare come back and paint again.”

He then went to the local council offices where he told the clerk and another employee there what happened and that he would hold the council responsible.

He told the two staff members the workers were a “bunch of idiots”, adding that in 2013 they had written “Slop” instead of “Stop” on the road. Sometime later he was charged with insulting the council employees, who were public officials, and with threatening the workers outside his house.

However, Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras noted that, although made at the local council offices, the insult was directed at the road workers, who were not public officials, and not at the local council employees.

Mr Bonavia was also cleared of threatening the workers outside his house because in the court’s opinion telling them not to return did not amount to a threat.

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta represented Mr Bonavia.