Residents’ fury at village name change

Livid villagers only realised the change on Sunday, February 3, when they awoke to a brand-new welcome sign.

But instead of welcoming people to Stanton-in-Peak, the sign informed people they were entering the village of Beeley – much to the dismay of residents.

Furious villagers instantly took to the streets with pitchforks, axes and rakes to prove their dissatisfaction with the entirely unannounced name change.

Alan Coppock, Stanton-in-Peak resident said: “We were in church on Sunday morning when the vicar alerted us that our village had undergone a change of name.

“To be honest, we all thought it was hilarious really and assumed it must be some sort of mistake.”

In the wake of Stanton-inPeak’s surprise name change, the Mercury has received reports from other perplexed residents claiming that other villages have had an unannounced re-brand.

On Monday, February 4, Andy Wood posted of yet more peculiar happenings on the Mercury’s Facebook page.

He said: “When you are driving into Beeley from Chatsworth, the sign says Middleton By Youlgrave and driving into Middleton By Youlgrave the sign says Stanton-in-Peak.”

However, Derbyshire County Council’s Highways Department have now delivered some clarity on the issue.

A spokesperson said: “Following a report we received of an incorrect sign at Stanton-in-Peak we’ve made checks and found that a sign for the village, and Beeley, have been swapped – apparently by vandals.

“Currently our teams our busy dealing with gritting and keeping county roads clear of snow but we’re going to deal with this as a priority as soon as the weather improves.

“We’ve made the police aware of this and will be monitoring the situation and keeping them updated,” the spokesperson added.