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Residents Of Bell End Fuming After Street Name Repeatedly Stolen

Residents Of Bell End Fuming After Street Name Repeatedly Stolen

The road in the village of Wollaston often features in a list of the top 10 rudest in the country

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Locals from a small village in Northamptonshire are fuming after 'pathetic' thieves have repeatedly stolen the sign from their street.

Why would anyone want to take someone's road sign, you might ask? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that the street is called Bell End.

The road in the village of Wollaston often features in a list of the top 10 rudest in the country.

But residents are fed up after they were hit by yet another robbery, claiming the sign is stolen at least once a year.

The street - which is only around 100m long - is named after the now-closed Bell Inn pub.

SWNS

Neil Balderson, 39, told the BBC: "It has been a well-known feature in the village and there is a cheeky side to it.

"We regularly have people stop for photos and it's not unknown for people leave their mark with stickers and suchlike.

"The sign being taken is really quite a sad state of affairs."

Christine Thurland, 80, added: "I don't understand why would anyone want to do something so silly."

The Borough Council of Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire, said it would replace the sign - but also claimed it had not received any calls for the street to be remained.

Believe it or not, this isn't the only Bell End in the UK.

Mind you, some of the folk of the Bell End in Rowley Regis near Birmingham, West Midlands, aren't too attached to their street name, having started a petition for it to change back in 2018.

The other Bell End.
SWNS

Many argued that it left them open to ridicule and that it was even responsible for knocking £60,000 off house prices, so they set up a petition to get the name changed.

However, a handful of other locals didn't share the same sentiment, and were furious at the idea of their beloved Bell End having to change its name, eventually deciding to set up a counter petition.

This initiative absolutely obliterated the original one as it was signed by almost 5,000 people, compared to just 207 for the other one.

Following this, a representative from Sandwell Council, where Bell End is located, has said the name will not be changed.

Linda George, who set up the 'Leave the historic name of Bell End alone' petition, said: "Bell End is just a modern interpretation of a historic street.

"We understand it's somebody who is fairly new to the road who started the petition and as soon as he moved in put notes through doors.

"Everyone's attitude was, 'Why did you move here, you knew what it was called?'

"The council suddenly got in touch with me yesterday or the day before, someone has obviously contacted them and they said there's no plan to change it.

"We're pleased, it's a victory for common sense, there are far worse names out there. I have family from Bell End, I have cousins who live there."

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: uk news, News