Council apologises over Yorkshire sign erected in North Lincolnshire

A council has apologised after a Welcome to Yorkshire sign was erected in a North Lincolnshire village.

The misleading road sign appeared in Sandtoft earlier this month, leaving local residents pondering who was responsible.

Some said it was the work of contractors who were unfamiliar with the area, while others suggested it had been placed the wrong way round.

Doncaster Council has now admitted responsibility.

In a Tweet, the authority said: "Sadly, our attempt to covertly expand the borough (as we love Lincolnshire that much) has been rumbled!

"Seriously, an honest mistake which is being rectified, sorry for any confusion."

The move prompted a raft of comments on social media, with some welcoming the boundary shift, while others opposed it.

One comment simply read: "Anything that ends with shire will do me, Lincolnshire or Yorkshire."

According to residents, the sign has since been turned round, and is now correct in welcoming people to Yorkshire after they leave the village rather than entering it.

Sandtoft is on the the Isle of Axholme, an area of North Lincolnshire comprising a number of communities, including Sandtoft, Haxey, and Epworth, on the border with South Yorkshire.

The name Isle is given to the low-lying area as each town or village was once built on dry, raised ground in the surrounding marshland, before it was drained.

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