VILLAGERS in Aberdeenshire are looking to combat thieves who steal road signs for their provocatively named village – made famous by the late Terry Wogan.

Locals of Cock Bridge in Aberdeenshire are tired of people taking the signs which welcome travellers to their village, with the council now looking to implement “tamper proof” versions.

Radio host Wogan, who died in 2016, would regularly make jokes about the name of the village bringing notoriety to the town.   

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Aberdeenshire Council had previously said the thefts were “disappointing” but that they were in the process of replacing them. The signs were then stolen again in the summer and have not been replaced since.

While the road signs were in place, stickers with provocative messages like “#SendNudes” were often placed on them.

And now the council has pledged to tackle the issue.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of the issues with this sign and are working to replace it using more robust tamper-proof fixings.”

The town is not the only one in Aberdeenshire that gets attention for its amusing name, with Backside and Brokenwind also regularly being the butt of jokes.

Local councillor Geva Blackett said: “Those signs continually get targeted as do another lot in my ward – the signs for Lost. The signs for Lost are continually lost.

“People who take them think it’s amusing and they end up on somebody’s wall as a souvenir.

“But every time they are replaced it costs money which means another pothole does not get filled or a school book does not get replaced.

“I’m sure the ingenuity of the council engineers will now come up with a thief-proof sign for Cock Bridge – and I hope I’m not proved wrong.”