Sign pranksters cause chaos in West Country
Pranksters have caused chaos across the West Country by swapping signs between several villages that are more than 60 miles apart.
Several signs have reappeared in different locations across Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset over recent days.
One sign from Camerton, in Somerset, appeared in the town of Bradford-on-Avon, in Wiltshire.
The sign for Bradford-on-Avon then reappeared 70 miles away on the peninsula of Portland, in Dorset, on March 24.
In Somerset, a sign for Waterlip was removed and taken to nearby Midsomer Norton.
Bradford-on-Avon town council and Bath and North East Somerset council worked together to recover the sign, but soon afterwards another one from Dorset's Jurassic Coast appeared in Bradford-on-Avon.
Bradford-on-Avon town council said it believed the incident was 'a prank'.
Manda Rigby, a Bath and North East Somerset councillor, said: 'This was definitely not a sign put up by Bath and North East Somerset council. We are as baffled as the town council.'
In a statement, Parvis Khansari, Wiltshire council's corporate director, said correcting the sign swapping was 'an unnecessary use of both time and money that could be better spent on providing a service to the public'.
He added: 'There have been several similar recent instances where a sign has been swapped for a sign plate from outside of the county.'
A spokesman for Somerset council said the authority believed the incidents, which have been reported to police, constituted 'criminal damage'.
In September 2023, road signs in Caithness, Scotland, were removed and replaced by pranksters, with a locl councillor condemning it as 'confusing for tourists' and 'a criminal offence'.
In Glasgow last month, a prankster dressed as a race marshal sent 30 trail race runners on a 1.5 mile detour by hiding park signs.
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