Road signs in one of the rudest-named streets in the UK have had to be secured with concrete to stop tourists stealing them, but residents are “very proud” to live there, the town mayor has said.
Minge Lane in Upton upon Severn in Worcestershire features on the list as one of the UK’s rudest place names in a new survey, alongside the likes of Sluts Hole Lane in Norfolk, Sandy Balls in the New Forest and Shitterton in Dorset.
Derbyshire’s Fanny Avenue, Cocks in Cornwall and Wetwang in Yorkshire also give people a laugh, according to the poll.
Speaking to the Press Association, Jeremy Owenson, the mayor of Upton upon Severn, said residents living in Minge Lane are so proud of it, they host a festival named after it every summer.
He said: “We’re very proud of (the name)… There is an informal festival with loads of bands and a bit of fancy dress.
“People get down to the local pub and generally have a good time. It’s a fun celebration to embrace the name Minge Lane rather than worrying too much about it.”
Mr Owenson, who is also the deputy leader of Malvern Hills District Council, said some tourists have been so amused by the street name that road signs have been pinched.
He said: “From a district council perspective, we regularly had the street name stolen.
“The new names have been concreted in to make sure they can’t be taken.
“It is something that is regularly photographed by people.
“Upton is a big tourist town, we’ve got a lovely riverbank and we do festivals.
“Minge Lane is one of the local festivals but we have got the biggest free Blues festival in Europe, one of the biggest folk festivals, an 80s retro family fun festival, with thousands and thousands of happy tourists, so when they go wandering around the town between those events, they often come across Minge Lane and will take a happy photo, have a chuckle to themselves and hopefully spend some money in the town before they leave.”
He said people living on the lane are used to it being a tourist attraction.
He said: “I know people who have lived and still live on Minge Lane and they are proud of it.
“It is derived from an old Anglo-Saxon word and it is something people are proud of.
“Everyone gives a wry smile, but they are certainly proud of it.”
Butthole Lane in Shepshed, Leicestershire, another cheeky road that made the list, also has a historic reason for the name.
Peter Grainger, a resident of the road for 46 years, said: “The reason why it is called Butthole Lane goes back to 1066, there was a royal decree that you had to practice shooting arrows, and you shoot arrows into a hollow, which is a hole. They are called butts.
“There was a hollow, which is gone now because they built houses, but that is why it is called Butthole Lane.”
Asked if he would ever want the name changed, Mr Grainger, a town councillor, said: “No, not at all, I would be against that.
“There are only seven houses on Butthole Lane and everyone is happy and proud of the name, and why not?
“Some people have a laugh at the name and you have to explain the reason why it is called that. It is history that we shouldn’t lose in this country.”
Bell End in Rowley Regis in the West Midlands, which also made the list of rudest place names, was the target of complaints in 2018 and residents started a petition to change it.
They claimed children would be bullied at school and called on Sandwell Council to rename it because they had become a “laughing stock”.
The petition attracted only 100 signatures but a rival campaign – titled “Leave the Historic Name of Bell End Alone!” – received more than 4,800 supporters at the time and the road name was never changed.
More than half (53%) of Britons think that the UK has some of the funniest road and village names in the world, but they can also be a distraction for drivers, with cheeky road names putting off two-thirds (65%) of drivers, the new survey found.
Six in 10 (60%) admitted missing their turn or exit due to laughing and one in three (33%) nearly having an accident.
Of people surveyed, 63% said they have taken a detour to witness a funny street name, while 58% have pulled over to take a picture of a humorous sign.
Asda Car Insurance visited some of Britain’s most distracting roads this month, temporarily putting green velvet “modesty” curtains over the signs, in a bid to help keep drivers’ eyes on the road.
Britain’s rudest place names, according to Asda Money:
1. Sluts Hole Lane, Norfolk – 38%
2. Butthole Lane, Leicestershire – 37%
3. Bell End, Rowley Regis – 36%
4. Twatt, Orkney – 35%
5. The Knob, Northamptonshire – 33%
6. Minge Lane, Worcestershire – 32%
7. Sandy Balls, New Forest – 32%
8. Cock-A-Dibby, Berkshire – 31%
9. Slag Lane, Merseyside – 30%
10. Fanny Avenue, Derbyshire – 29%
11. Cocks, Cornwall – 29%
12. Back Passage, City of London – 28%
13. Shitterton, Dorset – 28%
14. Titty Hill, West Sussex – 27%
15. Fanny Hands Lane, Lincolnshire – 26%
16. Happy Bottom, Dorset – 26%
17. Cock Hill Lane, Birmingham – 25%
18. Titty Ho, Northamptonshire – 25%
19. Fingringhoe, Essex – 24%
20. Wetwang, Yorkshire – 24%
21. Crotch Crescent, Oxford – 23%
22. Slack Bottom, West Yorkshire – 23%
23. Jackass Lane, Kent – 20%
24. Dumb Woman’s Lane, East Sussex – 20%
25. Pratts Bottom, Greater London – 20%
26. Great Snoring, Norfolk – 19%
27. Twatling Road, Birmingham – 18%
28. Fine Bush Lane, Ruislip – 17%
29. Butt Hill Road, South Yorkshire – 17%
30. Hornyold Road, Worcestershire – 17%
31. Letsby Avenue, South Yorkshire – 15%
32. Nickey Nackey Lane, Surrey – 14%
33. North Piddle, Worcestershire – 12%
34. Penistone, Barnsley, South Yorkshire – 10%
35. Piddlehinton, Dorset – 7%
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