A MYSTERY prankster has found an ingenious way to shorten the walk to the bus stop - by sticking a London Buses sign to a lamppost.

Bus passengers who faced a long walk between stops thought their prayers had been answered when a new stop appeared in Cathall Road.

But when the stop disappeared again, they discovered that it had not been put there by Transport for London - and that it was a "phantom" bus stop.

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat transport spokeswoman at the London Assembly, said: "I was contacted by one of my colleagues in Leytonstone about a bus stop which had mysteriously disappeared from Cathall Road.

"I contacted TfL and after some investigating, they discovered the bus stop was never meant to be there in the first place.

"The sign had just been stuck on a lamppost and bus drivers were mistaking it for the real thing."

And bus passengers will be disappointed to learn that there are no plans to replace the phantom with a real stop, as it's located on the brow of a bridge and would be too dangerous.

TfL confirmed: "Someone had stuck the round London Buses sign on a lamp column so that it resembled a bus stop.

"We do not know who did this but it was not with the permission of London Buses."