Swapped road signs confiscated and awaiting exchange
Road signs on the edge of Bradford on Avon that were swapped with a town over 60 miles away are being held while an exchange with Dorset local authorities is being organised.
On Friday, March 21, the Wiltshire Times reported that the 'Welcome to Bradford on Avon' signs had been replaced with those of Camerton, a village in Somerset.
Just two days later, on Sunday, March 23, it emerged that the signs had been swapped again, this time with one from much further afield, the sign reading 'Jurassic coast'.
READ MORE:
The switch 'baffled' local councils and residents alike and made national titles as news of the pranksters' stunt spread.
Now, Wiltshire Council has said the signs have been moved to its Melksham depot, where it is being held while a swap with Dorset's authorities is arranged.
Parvis Khansari, corporate director, Place, told the Times: 'The sign is currently being stored at our Melksham depot.
'We are in contact with Dorset Highways Department to arrange to exchange the road signs that were swapped.'
At the time the sign swap was first reported, Bradford on Avon Town Council posted a photo on its Facebook page of a sign reading 'Camerton', where the 'Welcome to Bradford on Avon' is ordinarily located.
Camerton is a village in the Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) Council area, approximately 11 miles from Bradford on Avon.
A spokesperson for the town council confirmed the sign had been replaced later that day. However, two days later, the sign had been swapped again.
Now, the sign appears to have been swapped with one from the Jurassic Coast, with a post on the Spotted in Bradford on Avon Facebook group reading: 'Yesterday Camerton... today Jurassic Coast...'
The sign reads, 'Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site', and a blue ammonite is emblazoned above the text.
A post from the afternoon of Monday, March 24, appears to reveal the location of the missing sign as Portland, a peninsula to the south of Weymouth.
The post reads: 'Just incase anyone wondered where your signpost had gone.'
Responding to the initial switch with Camerton, Parvis Khansari, corporate director for Place, said: "We are aware that several road signs around the Bradford on Avon area have been swapped overnight for signs from Camerton near Radstock.
"We are in communication with Bath & North East Somerset Council in order to swap the signs back and it has also been reported to the police for further investigation.
'We are in communication with Bath & North East Somerset Council in order to swap the signs back and it has also been reported to the police for further investigation.'
SEE ALSO:
On Monday, March 24, B&NES Council told the Times they are also looking into the initial swap, and told the Wiltshire Times they had reported it to the police.
Cllr Manda Rigby said: 'We know Camerton is not near Bradford on Avon. This was definitely not a sign put up by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
'We are as baffled as the town council. We have removed this sign and several others that appeared in the local area over the weekend and reported the matter to the police.
'If anyone sees incorrect signs like this in our area please report them to us using Fix My Street.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Breakdown's Premiership team of the 2024-25 season
The Fijian Kalaveti Ravouvou has been in scintillating form for Bristol Bears, and lines up at outside-centre in the Breakdown's team of the season. The Fijian Kalaveti Ravouvou has been in scintillating form for Bristol Bears, and lines up at outside-centre in the Breakdown's team of the season. Photograph:Full back Santiago Carreras (Gloucester) Plenty of quality contenders – Sale's Joe Carpenter, Northampton's George Furbank and Bristol's Rich Lane – and I was also tempted to hand Alex Goode a well-deserved retirement gift. But Carreras has been an absolute joy to watch and central to Gloucester's attacking reinvention. For a snapshot check out the try he helped to start and then finished against Sale at Kingsholm in January. The prospect of him linking up with Finn Russell at Bath next season is mouthwatering. Right wing Tommy Freeman (Northampton) A season to remember for a fine player who continues to improve. There are quicker right wingers around – Saracens' Tobias Elliott, Exeter's Paul Brown-Bampoe and Leicester's Adam Radwan have all caught the eye – but none with Freeman's all-round instincts, aerial ability and deceptive strength. Fifteen tries in his past 12 games of the season for club and country is not the worst springboard into this summer's British & Irish Lions tour. Outside-centre Kalaveti Ravouvou (Bristol) The 26-year-old Ravouvou has featured in a variety of positions this season but has to be included somewhere on this team sheet. Eleven tries in 13 Premiership games – he missed the start of the campaign – tells only part of the story. Give him the ball and something special tends to happen, as underlined by his extraordinary back-handed offload to set up Gabriel Ibitoye for a try against Leicester in April. Pips his Bears teammate Benhard Janse Van Rensburg and Bath's sadly injured Ollie Lawrence. Inside-centre Seb Atkinson (Gloucester) England have been looking for young players with the skillset to fill the pivotal 12 jersey and Atkinson, still only 23, has all the necessary attributes. Strong, fit and dextrous he featured in all Gloucester's league games, contributing seven tries, and must be pushing strongly for a first Test cap on tour this summer. Suddenly, with Sale's Rekeiti Ma'asi-White and Bath's Max Ojomoh also in the frame, Steve Borthwick has intriguing options. Left wing Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol) Yes, he makes the occasional howler. Yes, he sees things differently. But Ibitoye did not finish this season as the league's joint top scorer by accident and, with the Bears preparing to face Bath in Friday's semi-final, he is not finished yet. Almost ridiculously elusive and with an astute eye for a gap, he just needs to tighten up his defence a notch. Ollie Hassell-Collins, Cadan Murley and Arron Reed are all unlucky. Fly-half George Ford (Sale Sharks) Overlooked by the British & Irish Lions but not by everyone else. While the past few seasons have had their frustrations he has been consistently influential for the Sharks this year, particularly when you dig deeper into the stats. Leaving aside the Saracens fixture in September – when he limped off after six minutes – Sale have won all but one of the other 11 league games he started. Food for thought for his former club Leicester this weekend. Scrum-half Tomos Williams (Gloucester) Ben Spencer has enjoyed another fine season for Bath and Alex Mitchell remains a class operator. In common with Carreras, though, it is impossible to overlook the whirring dynamo who has sparked Gloucester's fast and furious attacking rugby. Williams started all but one of the Cherry & Whites' games and his no-look basketball-style scoring pass to Seb Atkinson against Bristol was among the season's defining images. Loosehead prop Francois van Wyk (Bath) Francois who? This is probably a record because Van Wyk has started 13 of his 17 Premiership games this season on the bench. But once he rumbles on to the field as a specialist second-half replacement there is mostly only one outcome: the Bath pack crank things up and the opposition slowly have the life squeezed out of them. Will receive nil publicity outside north-east Somerset before this week's semi-final, but a vital cog in the Bath machine nevertheless. Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks) Could easily have gone for Northampton's Curtis Langdon or Bath's Tom Dunn, neither of whom have taken a backward step all season. Nathan Jibulu, bound for Sale from Harlequins, also looks a serious prospect. But Cowan-Dickie's career revival following a worrying neck injury has been remarkable and his recent form has also helped to drive Sale's late-season challenge. Will fancy denting a few Wallabies on the Lions' tour of Australia. Tighthead prop Thomas du Toit (Bath) The Springbok rock upon which Bath's table-topping season has been based. Every top side needs an immovable object at tighthead and Bath have not lost a league match in which Du Toit has started since the season's opening weekend. Among the nominees for player of the season and must have a decent chance of claiming the top prize on behalf of unsung front-rowers everywhere. Has also helped his teammate Will Stuart raise his game to the next level. Lock Maro Itoje (Saracens) Newly married, captain of the British & Irish Lions and now – drum roll – selected in the Breakdown's team of the season for a second consecutive year. Amid his myriad other commitments he has started 14 league games and has not been substituted by either club or country in any fixture since the end of September. That kind of durability and mental strength continues to set him apart. Lock Ollie Chessum (Leicester) Another potentially valuable Lion-in-waiting. Chessum is becoming as much of a talisman for Leicester as Du Toit is for Bath. The Tigers have lost only one league game this season in which their 24-year-old England forward has featured; if he can stay fit he should have a long and successful Test career. His battle against Sale's bruising forwards will go a long way towards determining Saturday's semi-final. Blindside flanker Ted Hill (Bath) What a vintage season it has been for back-row forwards. Sale's Tom Curry, Saracens' Juan Martín González, Northampton's Alex Coles (how good was he in the Champions Cup final?) and Josh Kemeny are all high-class operators but Hill, regularly overlooked by England, has been consistently outstanding. He can operate in the second row, soar high in the lineout, tackle like a tank and sprint like a back; not since the rampaging Tom Croft has a towering back-rower possessed such devastating pace. Openside flanker Henry Pollock (Northampton) Plenty of alternative options here as well, led by Ben Curry at Sale, Sam Underhill and Guy Pepper at Bath and Will Evans at Harlequins. But Pollock, black headband and all, has gatecrashed the England team, played in a Champions Cup final and made the Lions squad aged 20. Can also operate at No 8, where his pace off the base makes him dangerous, while his turnover ability and penchant for irritating opponents make it impossible for him to be overlooked. No 8 Tom Willis (Saracens) Made a storming start to the season and, despite also representing England and England A, possessed sufficient energy and stamina to feature in 16 of Sarries' 18 league games. Not his fault that Saracens could not quite make the playoffs but at least it gives him a slight respite before England head off on tour to Argentina and the United States. Seven tries for club and country was his best return in a season since 2020-21, when he scored eight for Wasps. Adieu, farewell The list grows ever longer. Ben Youngs, Danny Care, Dan Cole, Mike Brown and, now, Alex Goode, all distinguished England internationals who have announced their retirement from top-level rugby in recent weeks. Add Joe Marler and Anthony Watson, who walked away a few months ago, and it really is the end of an era for the English domestic game. All the above played most of their rugby for one club, never tired of the Premiership grind and, in different ways, were inspiring role models for those seeking to follow in their footsteps. Good luck to each and every one for the next chapter and thanks for the memories. One to watch The United Rugby Championship has also reached the semi-final stage with Leinster playing Glasgow Warriors in Dublin and the Bulls hosting the Sharks in an all-South African clash in Pretoria. The Sharks owe their place to a 6-4 victory in a dramatic penalty shootout when their quarter-final against Munster in Durban finished 24-24 after extra time. It again raised the issue of the best way to decide tied matches, with penalty shootouts in rugby even less satisfying than their football equivalents. Should Sharks have prevailed because they finished higher up the final league table? Or should Munster have been rewarded either for scoring 12 more tries than Sharks in the regular season, or for being the away side? Spectators should surely be served up something more imaginative: perhaps a 'golden try' with both sides reduced to 12 players if the scores are still level after 10 minutes of additional time? There are already calls to introduce a 'golden point' for the forthcoming British & Irish Lions series against Australia, with some underwhelmed by the shared series result in 2017 between the Lions and the All Blacks. Anything but goal kicks should be the organisers' mantra: rugby can do much better. Memory lane The end of the Premiership season sparks memories of great matches of the past and one that immediately springs to mind is the extraordinary comeback by Harlequins against Wasps at Twickenham on the opening day of the season in 2012. As our Michael Aylwin wrote: 'To overturn a 27-point deficit in a little over 20 minutes feels as if it is unprecedented but that is what Harlequins did here. In the 58th minute, the scoreline read 40-13 in Wasps' favour, and how the whipping boys of last season had deserved it, their wings, and Christian Wade in particular, tearing the champions to shreds for the first hour or so … As if a 40-13 deficit were not unlikely enough for the side who won the title against the side who nearly slipped off the back of the Premiership into oblivion, Harlequins somehow eventually achieved the most extraordinary of two-point wins.' Still want more? Bristol Bears clinched a playoff spot by seeing off Harlequins at Ashton Gate. Read Michael Aylwin's report. Advertisement Gloucester sealed a bonus-point win against Northampton but it was not enough for the top four, reports Luke McLaughlin. And British & Irish Lions highlights will be available free-to-air this summer. Read the exclusive story by Matt Hughes. Subscribe To subscribe to the Breakdown, just visit this page and follow the instructions. And sign up for The Recap, the best of our sports writing from the past seven days.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Times and locations as Red Arrows to soar overhead twice in two days
Wiltshire residents will be treated to the sight of the Red Arrows flying over the county twice in two days. The iconic aerobatic display team soared through the county's skies on Saturday, May 31, while in transit between RAF Brize Norton and Exeter Airport. The recognisable aircrafts were heading south for the English Riviera Airshow and were visible over Broad Hinton, just south of Swindon, shortly before 3pm. They made their way south over towns like Melksham and Bradford on Avon and were snapped near Barbury Castle. Suggested reading Northern Lights could be visible tonight as red alert issued Police called to incident at Morrisons store near town centre M4 traffic warning issued after crash causes standstill queues But those who missed the Red Arrows flying over will have another chance to catch a glimpse of them on Sunday, June 1. On Sunday, the team will be making its way from the English Riviera Airshow to the Torbay & Midlands Festival where it will be carrying out another display. Once again, the Red Arrows' route will take them over Wiltshire. They are expected to be sighted over Bath shortly before 2.44pm and will then make their way to Brinkworth, north of Chippenham and west of Swindon, by 2.46pm. The planes will then head to Cirencester and eventually on to RAF Waddington.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Former nurse, 100, 'inundated' with birthday cards
A former midwife has received hundreds of cards from around the world in celebration of her 100th birthday. Bertha Preston spent time working in New Zealand, Australia and Kenya, before settling down in a nursing career at Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath, Somerset. With no surviving family or close friends nearby, staff at the Bloomfield Care Centre in Paulton issued a "heartfelt request" to the public to send in their warm wishes. Key worker Jane Rogers described Ms Preston as a "very strong lady", who "chose her career over marriage" and showed an unwavering dedication to her profession. Ms Preston said "her spirit remains strong and her presence continues to inspire those around her". "She's been a huge part of my life," said Ms Rogers, who has cared for Ms Preston since 2009. "All of the residents here are very special to everyone who works here, but she's a darling lady. "Because of her vulnerability and the fact she has no known family, we've all become her family, and that's how we like it." Ms Preston's "quiet strength and compassion" was born out of becoming an orphan at the age of eight, after losing her mother to tuberculosis. Her nursing journey took her around the world, most notably to Africa, where she treated patients for trachoma and helped deliver hundreds of babies. One woman wrote to Ms Preston from Kenya to ask if she had worked at the hospital during her birth in the early 1960s. "I was delighted to read of your enthusiasm for the country, and of your hard work and devotion over many years as a nurse," Sarah wrote. "You are clearly a credit to your profession." Activities assistant Christina Coles said the home had been "inundated" with letters since posting the appeal online, including a card from King Charles III and Queen Camilla. "The amount that's come through the post has been amazing," she said. "We've had such a good response, it's really been overwhelming. "It's lovely that people have made so much effort in the community to come forward for a lady who has worked so hard. "100 years is an amazing achievement for anyone. Bertha has got an incredible story and it's nice to share that with people," she added. Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. D-Day veteran's 'unforgettable' 100th birthday World War Two decoder celebrates 100th birthday Vera celebrates 100th birthday with 450 cards Bloomfield Care Centre
