Llanfairpwll: Betting firm criticised for 'silly stunt' after changing sign

Residents of a village with one of the longest names in the world took matters into their own hands after a betting firm tampered with their welcome sign.

Visitors to Llanfairpwll on Anglesey were recently greeted with a modified sign that mocked Chelsea Football Club.

A local councillor accused Paddy Power of failing to ask permission to make the change after locals took it down.

The firm said it plans to launch a "formal petition" to have its sign made permanent.

Llanfairpwll Community Council are responsible for the sign in the village.

The sign referred to the number of times the letter 'L' appeared in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch, and compared it with the number of losses - or 'L's - Chelsea has suffered this season.

Local councillor Dyfed Wyn Jones said he was made aware of the fake sign on Thursday through social media, and said it had been placed over the original sign using fabric fastening.

It was eventually taken down by local councillors and its original signage is again on show.

Mr Jones called the modification a "silly stunt".

"I wouldn't look at it like more than that," he said. "But it would have been nice if they could have asked for permission or made some attempt to contact us."

He said the council is checking whether the stunt has caused damage to the sign.

"I think we need to look in more detail - I think it has caused some damage - maybe on the 'reflective coating'.

"We would like Paddy Power to apologise if there is damage and acknowledge that they should have asked permission."

A spokesperson from Paddy Power said: "Following a phenomenal reaction to the sign from locals and over one million views to our posts on social media, we're thinking about launching a formal petition to have our sign made permanent, with the council's agreement of course."

They said that the firm intends to make right "any unintentional damage" caused during the sign's removal.