THE mayor of a French village whose missing road sign appeared in Somerset has politely asked the English to just take a picture of it next time, writes John Wimperas and Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporters.

Pranksters replaced a “Welcome to Midsomer Norton” sign with a road sign from the village of Sallespisse in south west France. Last year, Midsomer Norton’s road sign was swapped with one from Frome but now the Somerset sign-swapper appears to have gone international.

Sallespisse, which is considered an amusing place name to French-speakers, is no stranger to having its sign stolen either. But when it vanished six months ago nobody expected it would end up 540 miles away in Somerset.

Monsieur Francis Grinet is the mayor of Sallespisse. He said: “While seeing our sign in an English town might seem amusing, it nonetheless constitutes damage to our local council... We have to replace them every time, mainly to ensure road safety, and each replacement comes at a cost.”

Sallespisse is a pretty rural village in the south west of France with a population of just 600 people.

Mr Grinet said: “I’m glad to know that our English friends were able to learn about our town thanks to this prank. I encourage them to take a picture in front of the sign the next time they drive through our village — but please leave it in place!”

This wasn’t the only foreign road sign which appeared in the town. Just around the corner on the A362, another “Welcome to Midsomer Norton” sign was replaced with a road sign directing people to Barcelona and Valencia via Spain’s longest road, the N-340. Although the sign is actually pointing in the right direction, Barcelona is not for another 720 miles.

In Spain, stealing a road sign can land you with a fine of up to €20,000.