Misprinted street sign amuses residents

Despite their best intentions, the signage team of Wellington City Council in New Zealand has done it again, giving a Thorndon street a much racier title than it deserves. Torless Terrace resident Deborah Bowler spotted a couple of council workers replacing the street sign on Friday as it had come loose.

But she soon realised that the replacement had left things a bit more exposed than before, with the new sign proudly welcoming people to "Topless Tce - No Exit". "At first I thought, it's only been up for a day and someone has messed with it already. But on closer inspection I realised that's the real deal."



Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the Torless Tce signs had been the occasional target of "wags with a ladder and a bit of white tape or paint" for decades. "The council usually managed to avoid the temptation. Now we are abreast of the situation we'll do a bit of an investigation and get things fixed to protect the honour of the good people of the lane. We don't want it turning into a tourist attraction or to be overrun by tittering schoolboys."

The council slip is not the first time they have been left bare. In 2008, Old Bullock Rd in Highbury was given the slightly saltier name of Old Bollock Rd on a street sign. MacLean said the likely cause of the latest sign malfunction was a dodgy spellcheck. "Hopefully the public will be reassured that we haven't got [British comedians] Benny Hill and Frankie Howerd running the signs department."