Lost village gets new road sign

Lost will be lost no more (Picture by Harvey Wood Photography)

Residents of a small village are celebrating getting back on the map with a new road sign.

People living in Lost in Upper Donside mounted a fight to keep their identity after Aberdeenshire Council vowed to change its name to Lost Farm.

The proposal came after a spate of thefts of the village sign by light-fingered tourists.

Plans for a new name sparked opposition from locals and people as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Local councillor Bruce Luffman led the campaign to keep Lost on the map and said he was very happy with the U-turn by the council.

Mark Skilling, local roads manager with Aberdeenshire Council, who helped create the new sign, said: "The sign is about 8ft off ground level, which is typical.

Embedded in concrete

"What isn't usual is that we welded the sign on to the pole. Usually they are attached with jubilee clips but in the sign shop we have fabricated it on, the sign is attached to the pole.

"The pole is then embedded in concrete.

"The only other sign I have heard of being stolen that has been made in this way was years ago at RAF Edzell.

"Personnel going back to the States took it back as a souvenir.

New sign

"The sign itself only costs about £30 to make - but we have to send someone up there, so all in all it costs about £100 for a new sign."

The new sign was erected on Tuesday - a year after the previous one was stolen.

Many love to pose by the sign, but the council has had to replace it four times in the last five years.

The longest that a sign stayed in place during that period was three months.