'Little White Town' in Devon changes signposts over claims of racism

With rows of tiny houses bleached by the sea, Bideford in North Devon has been known as 'The Little White Town’ for more than 150 years.

Yet the longstanding nickname is now under threat over complaints it could be seen as a “racist slur”.

The original tagline was given by the author Charles Kingsley, who wrote of "the little white town of Bideford” in his swashbuckling 1855 novel Westward Ho!

The name stuck, and for decades has appeared on signposts outside the town.

At a council meeting earlier this month, however, a motion was heard to remove the tagline completely. Tabled by Conservative group leader Dermot McGeough, the motion read: “Following a number of complaints from parishioners, I propose that the words 'Little White Town' are removed from all signs within the town and at the town entrances.

"The wording 'Little White Town' can be perceived as causing a racist slur and not politically correct.  Therefore this issue should be rectified immediately. "If this wording is not removed, the town council could be classed as a racist white supremacist."

The idea provoked a lively discussion, with some members of Bideford Town Council describing it as “political correctness gone mad”, but eventually a compromise was agreed.

To clear up any confusion, every signpost will now read: “Charles Kingsley's Little White Town (1855)”.

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