Staines becomes Staines-upon-Thames
25th May 2012
The renaming of Staines-upon-Thames has been marred by wrongly placed signs
The town of Staines has changed its name to Staines-upon-Thames in an attempt to shake off the shackles of its Ali G associations. Local residents have expressed anger at the renaming, which was further fuelled by the installation of new signs in the wrong town.
Parts of neighbouring Ashford temporarily became Staines-upon-Thames when signs were wrongly placed in a blunder by the Borough Council. An outraged Ashford resident told a local newspaper that he: “was furious that parts of what's traditionally been known to be Ashford have been swallowed up by this new entity.”
The misplaced signs have since been taken down but one local welcomed the mistake. Steve Parsons who campaigned against the name change said: “I hope they continue to mismanage it as well as they have been. It heaps more ridicule on the whole plan.”
Councillor Colin Davis of Spelthorne Borough Council defends the decision to rename the town saying it will help boost its image. “I regard Ali G as someone who put Staines on the map, we're just telling people where it is.”
The name changed officially on 20 May 2012 and followed a day of celebrations and a regatta on the river.
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