Milton Ernest misspelt as Milton Earnest on new sign

The misspelt sign is due to be corrected, Bedford Borough Council says

A council has been criticised after accidentally renaming the village of Milton Ernest as Milton Earnest on a new road sign.

The mistake has appeared on a sign near the Bedfordshire village.

David Newman, who wrote the local history book The Importance of Milton Ernest, said he was "surprised at the error".

A spokeswoman for Bedford Borough Council said the sign was going to be corrected.

"This sign was manufactured to the wrong specifications," she said. "This is being corrected."

The incorrect road sign is on a junction where Milton Road meets Thurleigh Road

Mr Newman, vice chairman of Milton Ernest Parish Council, said: "It has been Milton Ernest for hundreds of years and people still mistakenly spell it the wrong way, as in The Importance of Being Earnest from the Oscar Wilde play.

"I'm surprised that the people who made the sign made such an error.

"You would have thought the council would have checked and have known the correct spelling of a village in its borough."

An older road sign was spelt correctly