New signs drawn up after council apostrophe error

The misplaced apostrophe was spotted on anti-littering posters around North Yorkshire

A council is drawing up new signs after making a mess of a misplaced apostrophe in posters for an anti-littering campaign.

North Yorkshire Council put up hundreds of posters at tourist locations and holiday spots featuring the Yorkshire dialect slogan 'Gerrit in't bin' - with the apostrophe in the wrong place.

After the blunder was flagged to the authority, the signs are being changed to correctly read 'Gerrit in t'bin.

Rod Dimbleby, chairman of the Yorkshire Dialect Society, said it was "disappointing" to see such a mistake.

'Bit of a headache'

As well as being used to indicate possession, apostrophes are also used to indicate the omission of one or more letters.

Mr Dimbleby said the council had been in touch with him to check their amended signs were correct.

"Most people's experience of Yorkshire dialect is what they've heard and odd phrases they've read," he said.

"They've certainly never written anything, so mistakes like these, I come across quite often."

He said it was important to make sure such dialect phrases were written correctly in order to protect them for future generations.

Councillor Keane Duncan admitted punctuating the Yorkshire dialect had caused "a bit of a headache".

He said: “While ‘in’t’ features in some dialect dictionaries, we are happy to take the lead of the Yorkshire Dialect Society who are the authority on this subject.

“We plan to revise our downloadable signs and social media graphics, moving the apostrophe.

“While we might be unsure about where the apostrophe belongs, we are certain there is just one place for litter in North Yorkshire, the bin.”

The mistake comes after the council came under criticism earlier this year when it announced plans to ditch punctuation marks on street signs.

However, after widespread condemnation the authority reversed the decision and said "the apostrophe will live on".

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