Britain’s ‘rudest road’ signs concreted in to deter thieves
Street signs along one of Britain’s most crudely named roads have been reinforced with concrete to deter souvenir-hunting tourists – but locals are “very proud” of their address.
Minge Lane, in Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, has been highlighted in a new survey ranking the nation’s most cheekily titled locations.
Other places on the list include Norfolk's Sluts Hole Lane, the New Forest's Sandy Balls, Shitterton in Dorset, and Yorkshire’s Wetwang.
Jeremy Owenson, the mayor of Upton upon Severn, said that Minge Lane residents embrace the moniker so wholeheartedly that they organise an annual summer festival named after it.
“We’re very proud of (the name)… There is an informal festival with loads of bands and a bit of fancy dress,” he said.
“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 deputy leader of Malvern Hills District Council, said that the street's popularity among amused visitors has previously led to the road signs being stolen.
“The new names have been concreted in to make sure they can’t be taken,” he said.”
“It is something that is regularly photographed by people.”
He said that Upton is a “big tourist town” with lots of festivals, and he hoped that those taking a photo on Minge Lane would “spend some money in the town before they leave”.
People living on the lane are used to it being a tourist drawcard, 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 its 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 that 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. The road name was never changed.
Rude road names can be distracting for drivers
More than half (53 per cent) 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 per cent) of drivers, the new survey found.
Six in 10 (60 per cent) admitted missing their turn or exit due to laughing and one in three (33 per cent) nearly having an accident.
Of people surveyed, 63 per cent said they have taken a detour to witness a funny street name, while 58 per cent 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 poll
- Sluts Hole Lane, Norfolk – 38 per cent
- Butthole Lane, Leicestershire – 37 per cent
- Bell End, Rowley Regis – 36 per cent
- Twatt, Orkney – 35 per cent
- The Knob, Northamptonshire – 33 per cent
- Minge Lane, Worcestershire – 32 per cent
- Sandy Balls, New Forest – 32 per cent
- Cock-A-Dibby, Berkshire – 31 per cent
- Slag Lane, Merseyside – 30 per cent
- Fanny Avenue, Derbyshire – 29 per cent
- Cocks, Cornwall – 29 per cent
- Back Passage, City of London – 28 per cent
- Shitterton, Dorset – 28 per cent
- Titty Hill, West Sussex – 27 per cent
- Fanny Hands Lane, Lincolnshire – 26 per cent
- Happy Bottom, Dorset – 26 per cent
- Cock Hill Lane, Birmingham – 25 per cent
- Titty Ho, Northamptonshire – 25 per cent
- Fingringhoe, Essex – 24 per cent
- Wetwang, Yorkshire – 24 per cent
- Crotch Crescent, Oxford – 23 per cent
- Slack Bottom, West Yorkshire – 23 per cent
- Jackass Lane, Kent – 20 per cent
- Dumb Woman’s Lane, East Sussex – 20 per cent
- Pratts Bottom, Greater London – 20 per cent
- Great Snoring, Norfolk – 19 per cent
- Twatling Road, Birmingham – 18 per cent
- Fine Bush Lane, Ruislip – 17 per cent
- Butt Hill Road, South Yorkshire – 17 per cent
- Hornyold Road, Worcestershire – 17 per cent
- Letsby Avenue, South Yorkshire – 15 per cent
- Nickey Nackey Lane, Surrey – 14 per cent
- North Piddle, Worcestershire – 12 per cent
- Penistone, Barnsley, South Yorkshire – 10 per cent
- Piddlehinton, Dorset – 7 per cent
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