By Tim Binnall
Officials in several British communities have expressed considerable annoyance at an industrious ne'er-do-well who keeps swapping their 'welcome' signs. According to a local media report, the prankster first struck back in March by changing the markers in multiple towns throughout the southwest part of the country. Hopes that the peculiar series of petty crimes was an isolated incident were dashed earlier this week when residents of numerous communities woke up to discover that the phantom sign swapper was back in action.
Taking to social media on Tuesday morning, officials from the community of Frome lamented that they were "the latest town to fall victim" to the odd troublemaker. The 'welcome' sign that once greeted visitors to their town, they explained, had been brought to a neighboring village around 10 miles away. Meanwhile, the marker from a community 8 miles away had been deposited in Frome. Though they initially joked that the incident was "a sad sign of the times," the post went on to take issue with the prankster's handiwork as "it costs time and money to resolve this sort of thing."
The criticism was echoed by officials in several other communities that have found themselves unwitting players in the sign swapper's proverbial game of musical markers. Police are understandably investigating the curious crime spree as the various impacted towns coordinate to restore some order from the chaos wrought by the phantom. Though authorities say the shenanigans are no laughing matter, some residents disagree with one declaring "whoever changed the signs is a legend" and another individual who encountered an incorrect marker marveling "I was crying laughing. I think it's bloody brilliant."