RESIDENTS and councillors in an area of Blackburn have been left scratching their heads after signs were put up that said they were in Mill Hill.

The signs, to show 20mph speed limits in certain streets, have a Blackburn with Darwen borough crest and the words ‘Mill Hill’ beneath them.

Councillors and residents said the streets, including Brother Street and Shorrock Lane, are actually in the Meadowhead ward.

But council bosses said despite the streets being within that ward, they are actually in the geographical area of Mill Hill.

Coun Konrad Tapp said residents in the area had been furious after the signs were put up.

He said: “Naturally I have been inundated with complaints from constituents who live in the Meadowhead area which has been classed as Mill Hill.

“The signs have been placed on Brother Street, Shorrock Lane and others.

“They have always voted in the Meadowhead local elections and consequently believe that is where their residence has and always will be.

“Angry and astonished, I decided to contact the powers-that-be to be told the sign is correct thanks to the ‘geography’ of the boundaries, whatever that means.

“You could place this latest debacle in a Monty Python show. You just couldn’t make it up.

“I cannot, for the life of me, understand the technicalities of the ‘geographic boundary’.

Coun Tapp said he contacted Blackburn with Darwen Council. The response: “For speed limit gateway signs, any place name needs to represent the geographical location and not the name of the ward.

“In this instance, while the ward is Meadowhead, it is geographically part of Mill Hill. This has been checked on old maps of the borough.

“The geographical requirement comes from Chapter 7 of the Traffic Signs Manual, therefore it would not be possible to put another name on the signs that does not represent the geographical area.”

Fellow Meadowhead ward councillor Ashley Whalley said: “They are clearly in the Meadowhead ward.

“They should have been correct in the first instance.

“We will of course be campaigning to have them changes, but the problem will of course be expense.”