Signs can be stolen or vandalised for all kinds of reasons. Some thieves sell whatever scrap metal they can lay their hands on, making road signs an easy target. Others remove signs to make a political point or to cause mayhem. Many are probably just bored. But how many view signs as potential trophies?
In the idyllic hamlet of Tiddleywink, that is precisely what locals believe thieves were thinking when they made off with a pair of signs that read: “TIDDLEYWINK. Please drive carefully.”
Tiddleywink is located just outside Yatton Keynell village, near Chippenham, Wiltshire. The hamlet consists of just eight country cottages and its inhabitants have been left bemused by the removal of the two signs.
Alastair Parker, chair of Yatton Keynell Parish Council, said: “People will nick anything these days. I’ve sometimes seen people being photographed by the signs. I can only think they took [them] for a nonsense trophy.”
Councillor Parker added that the signs would be replaced as soon as possible. The theft was not reported to Wiltshire Police.
Here at The Sussex Sign Company, we can understand why thieves would target the Tiddleywink signs. Perhaps Yatton Keynell Parish Council should invest in signage that is more difficult to remove.