FORGOTTEN villagers are desperate to get back on the map...and now they're twinned with Fraggle Rock!

It all began when Belthorn, just off the Blackburn-Haslingden road, "disappeared" during work on the M65.

First, drum shop boss Chas Hooper put up a hastily painted "Belthorn" sign to help visitors find the village and his shop.

Then, some local wit placed another sign underneath - "Twinned with Fraggle Rock" - claiming a link with the mythical TV lighthouse island populated with weird Muppet-like creatures.

"After I had put up my sign, somebody else sprayed the other one," said Chas. "People up here are taking it in good humour but it is causing problems.

"I heard that a doctor who was a stranger to the area could not find the village and my business has definitely been affected.

"I think the contractors are doing a wonderful job but a new sign telling people how to get to Belthorn should have been erected straight away.

"People are totally disorientated because of the new layout. Even people who have lived in the village for years have got lost."

He realised that it would only be a matter of time before permanent directions were posted.

But he added: "It has now been three weeks. A temporary notice was all it would have needed."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.