Shitterton sign now in stone to discourage thieves

After repeatedly losing their sign to potty humor thieves, residents of Shitterton, Dorset, England decided to fight back with a large stone.

Ian Ventham, chairman of the parish council, told Sky News: "Every two or three years somebody comes along and nicks our sign because, clearly, Shitterton is amusing. "We think it was kids who would like to have it stuck on the wall in a den somewhere. I don't think it was malicious, they just did it for fun, but it was exasperating for us. "We would get a nice new shiny sign from the council and five minutes later, it was gone." Then Ian's wife Diana came up with the idea of having a new Shitterton's sign carved into stone. "We thought, 'Let's put in a ton and a half of stone and see them try and take that away in the back of a Ford Fiesta'," Mr Ventham said. Ventham wrote to his neighbors in the hamlet, asking them to chip in £20 towards the purchase of the large Purbeck stone and the name engraving. Over half of the 50 households complied with his request, and the Purbeck district council donated another £70. Shitterton residents now have their village name engraved in stone, and are hoping they will never lose it again.