Otley residents are up in arms over a huge Welcome to Leeds sign that has gone up close to the entrance of the town.

They are furious that the sign along the A65 Ilkley Road tells people they are entering Leeds - ten miles away from the city and just half a mile from the main entrance to Otley.

And now Otley town councillor Nigel Francis is calling for the massive yellow and blue sign to be taken down - and replaced with a more tasteful one with Otley's name featuring prominently.

The large yellow sign with blue writing tells people approaching Otley from Burley-in-Wharfedale that they are entering the district of Leeds.

Coun Francis said: "It is not in keeping with a small rural town like Otley. It is such a huge monstrosity and does not add anything to the charm of Otley.

"It would have been much better to have a smaller sign with Otley printed on it in big letters with something like 'part of Leeds district' written much smaller."

And he believes people driving along the A65 will be confused. He said: "Anyone going to Leeds will think they've already arrived when in fact they're ten miles away from the centre."

So far, Coun Francis has had more than a dozen irate telephone calls from Otley people furious about the sign.

"People in Otley still think they live in an independent town and I would have thought that 90 per cent of people will find the sign offensive.

"Most people could not give a monkeys that they are entering Leeds and would much rather see a smaller sign saying they are coming into Otley," added Coun Francis.

Coun Francis said he would now be writing to Leeds City Council demanding that the sign be changed, but he was not confident that the sign would go.

"I bet what's happened is the council has a glut of money around about this time every year and they look around for some hare-brained scheme like this to spend it on," said Coun Francis.

A spokeswoman for Leeds City Council said: "The new boundary signs are being erected at all entry points into the district to welcome visitors to the Leeds area. This message and the style of signs were developed some time ago for use at all appropriate locations in the district.

"Given the very individual nature and character of the numerous towns and villages throughout the district, it is not possible to refer to each on the new district boundary signs. However, as long as the signs are practical, we are willing to consider proposals from bodies such as town and parish councils to erect boundary signs which are more in keeping with the location and identity of a community to give local messages of welcome."

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