New smart, state of the art bus shelters sited along Lancaster Road in Morecambe have caused a storm by spelling the names of not one but two local areas wrongly.

They all call Morecambe MORCOMBE' while nearby Heysham the winner of the recent Britain in Bloom competition is now HEYNSHAM', according to the destination signs.

"It's just a complete embarrassment," says Lisa Lamb, the assistant manager of the Spar shop on Lancaster Road.

"As soon as they put the shelters up people were coming into the shop and saying what a disgrace they are.

"Morecambe and Heysham are both well known places and it is careless to make that sort of mistake. It should have been spotted straight away and put right before the shelters were installed.

"But now all the new shelters have the same mistakes and something should be done. It is really annoying to see that sort of stupid error."

Lancashire County Council ordered the shelters for bus routes around the district, but a red-faced spokesman insists the mistake is not down to the local authority.

The spokesman told the Citizen: "The mistake is the fault of the manufacturers we have checked our order and the spellings are correct on that.

"We are very angry about this and have told the makers they have to correct their mistake as a matter of urgency and at their own expense.

"But I must admit this episode is very embarrassing for all concerned."

Matt Donlan