Winnie-the-Pooh village naming mystery is 'spoohf'

Dorchester on Thames would undergo a rebrand under the letter's plans

A riverside village has been left bewildered after letters setting out plans to rebrand it as a Winnie-the-Pooh inspired theme park were sent to residents.

Under the plans, laid out in the letters posted through people's doors, an anonymous campaigner said they wished to change the name of Dorchester on Thames in Oxfordshire to "Pooh Village".

The letters also warned that a "secret night-time guerrilla rebranding" of the village would take place at the end of 2024.

Dorchester on Thames Parish Council said it was aware of the apparent hoax, adding that it was a "great 'spoohf'".

The village has a long-held association with the honey-loving yellow bear, with the World Pooh Sticks Championships - a game inspired by AA Milne's classic Winnie-the-Pooh books - originally held there.

Among the plans shared in the letter are proposals for "large pooh bear logos" to be "mounted on entry arches over the road in and out of the village".

The letter that was delivered to residents in the village talks of the writer's Winnie-the-Pooh inspired plans

The letters, which were posted through some doors in the village last weekend, also lay out plans to turn Dorchester into "the UK's answer to Disneyland", claiming the village was currently sitting on a "huge honeypot".

"I remain confident too that the villagers will be transformed from 'sticks stuck in the mud' to 'sticks freely floating upon the honeyed waters of progress'," the writer added.

Resident Jo Ferguson said that although the proposed name change was "rather sweet", it was "not suitable".

"As a child I did Pooh Sticks down the road, so there's lots of Pooh things, but no - I think Dorchester on Thames is probably the best name for it," she said.

Local resident Sarah Mason questioned whether the letter was the work of a prankster

Sarah Mason, who also lives in the village, questioned whether the letter was part of some sort of prank or hoax, saying: "I wouldn't put it past somebody."

"If it is real, I don't think it'll take off, because of the history of the area and the fact that the name dates back quite a long way, so I don't think it'll happen," she added.

Dierdre Wollaston was harsher in her assessment of the plans, calling them "nonsense".

"I want it to remain Dorchester on Thames," she said.

Winnie-the-Pooh was created by author AA Milne

South Oxfordshire District Council said it did not want to "Pooh-Pooh" the "unique and surprising" proposition without "giving it full consideration".

In a statement, the authority added: "We would not condone a ‘guerrilla Pooh rebranding of the village’ and the letter-writer must bear in mind that their proposals would need to laid out in full and may 'Tigger' the need for consents first."