By Tim Binnall
Officials in a British community were forced to apologize for an embarrassing gaffe wherein a 'Dead End' sign was placed near the entrance to a cemetery. According to a local media report, the amusing miscue (seen below) occurred in the community of Wimborne, where an ongoing construction project has caused considerable consternation for commuters and residents. Specifically, drivers attempting to avoid a closed road have repeatedly tried to circumvent the scene by going down a dead-end street, thinking it might be a shortcut, only to have to turn around when they realized it was not.
Tired of seeing car after car making the same mistake, people who live along the road complained to the construction crew, which responded with what likely seemed like a simple solution: a temporary sign noting that the street is a dead end. Though they may have had the best intentions with the marker, it quickly became the talk of the town because of the peculiar spot where it was placed. Workers had put the 'Dead End' designation on the corner of the road right next to a rather sizeable sign indicating the entrance to the community's Wimborne Cemetery.
The unusual location for the temporary placard was initially thought to have been the work of a clever prankster until community officials came forward with the benign explanation for how the marker wound up where it was. In a statement detailing the sign's proverbial origin story, the Wimborne council also apologized for "any offense or upset this has caused." While that may have been the case for some residents, others expressed amusement at the situation and cracked a bevy of jokes about the marker on social media.