Should Lunt alter village name to stop sign vandals?

Apr 8 2008 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post

THE name of an historic Merseyside village was under threat last night, after a prospective Conservative councillor launched a campaign that could see it changed.

Martyn Ball, who is standing for election in Sefton’s Park ward, says Lunt should be changed to “Launt”.

This would stop vandals tampering with the lettering on signs in the village and embarrassing the locals, he says.

But villagers last night defended the centuries-old name, saying they would not bend to the will of “yobs”.

Dr Ball, a retired police officer with 23 years’ experience, said: “The problem over the years is the sign past the village gets defaced by mindless vandals into an old Anglo-Saxon word.

“Drive in every day and you see a very offensive word.

“We’re trying to keep all parts of Sefton respectable and vandal free.”

Dr Ball is canvassing opinion in the village ahead of the May elections. He says he will only take the proposal to Sefton council if he has villagers’ backing.

They accept the name of their village is altered on signs, but say they will not support the campaign.

Stewart Dobson, an 84-year-old Sefton Parish councillor, described the proposal as “ridiculous”.

“I’ve been on the Parish Council for 30 years. All the older people who have lived here for donkeys, none of them want to change.

“This village is very, very old and people don’t want the name changed. I don’t know the logic behind it – and all for one little sign. It’s ridiculous.

Mr Dobson said tape is stuck on the “L” of the sign to change its spelling, but the tape falls off when it rains.

He added: “It’s not children that are doing it. It’s been done for years and years. I don’t know who does it.

“It disappears again and then it comes back, but we have got decent children here.”

According to local website www.lunt-village.co.uk, the name is derived from the Norse word “lundr” or the Swedish word “lunder”, which both mean copse or grove.

The site says the village was first referred to in records in 1251.

Dr Ball, who is running in his first council elections, said the vandalism caused embarrassment for Lunt’s villagers.

He added: “It’s a great pity and a great shame that it’s come to this. But you’ve got to bear in mind that you can trade off the history, but it’s the embarrassment, too.

“I’m canvassing the local residents and giving them an option to see if they want it changed.

“If they want it to remain, we can leave the status quo.”

David Roughley, whose family has farmed in the village since 1851, said: “At the end of the day, we live in Lunt.

“We don’t want to change because of a few yobboes who change the sign. They should sort the kids out really, educating the yobs.

“It’s Lunt, and that’s it.”

benschofield