Man buys RAF Scampton sign bigger than his house

Steve Jollands said he did not check the dimensions of the sign before purchasing it on Facebook Marketplace

A Lincoln man got more than he bargained for after mistakenly purchasing an RAF Scampton sign bigger than his house.

Steve Jollands, who worked on the former RAF site from 1994 to 1995, initially thought he had bagged a "little memento" when he found the sign on Facebook Marketplace.

However, when he went to collect it, Mr Jollands, who lives in a bungalow, was shocked to discover it was 9ft (2.7m) long.

"Stupidly, I didn't ask for the dimensions and I have bought a sign that is far too large for my house," he said.

Steve Jollands thought the sign would be around three-to-four foot long but it was also too big for his Range Rover

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, he added: "I thought it would be three-to-four foot long and would fit nicely in my office at home."

The sign had been used as a turn-off on the A46 Lincoln bypass and Mr Jollands said he purchased it from a woman who got it from Lincolnshire Highways when the signs were removed.

Mr Jollands said he had to fold all the seats down in his Range Rover and strap it in to get his new sign home.

"It's higher than my bungalow," he said. "I live opposite the International Bomber Command Centre on Canwick Hill.

"If I put it up anywhere there people would probably be able to see it from space," he joked.

The sign is higher than Steve Jollands's bungalow

In terms of breaking the news of the new addition to his partner, Mr Jollands said it was "an interesting conversation" when he got home.

Now it's a question of what to do with it?

"It's certainly a memento of my time at RAF Scampton, but what I'm going to do with it now I don't know," he said.

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