Residents have shared their anger over a "homemade" sign placed on a Merseyside high street.
The sign, placed on Newton-le-Willows' High Street, reads: "Welcome to Newton-le-Willows. Please drive carefully through our village". This has caused some confusion, as well as anger among residents- who were quick to point out that Newton-le-Willows is a town of over 20,000 people- not a village.
Some say the sign, believed to have been put up by a member of the public- covering an old sign- exacerbates an existing divide between two parts of the town. Some residents living in the area surrounding the High Street are reported to refer to themselves as a village, separate from Earlestown, which is also within Newton-le-Willows.
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A picture of the signage was shared to a community Facebook page, where it received an array of comments. One person said: "Newton-Le-Willows is not a village but the locals around the high street area refer to that area as the village and have done for decades if not centuries. This is clearly a wind up."
While another added: "We are a town not a village. People living in a village typically have to travel to get food. Colleges, high schools and primary schools can be found in towns. Typically villages won't have any or if they do its one of them covering multiple near by villages. Typically villages have populations under 5,000."
Some however, were not aware of the status of the town and did believe it to be a village. One comment said: "Newton le willows is surely a village...St Helens is the town."
A local councillor confirmed to the ECHO that the "flyposting" had been referred to the appropriate authorities and would be removed.
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