Strange London highway signal directing drivers to California is lastly mounted after 15 years

A bonkers road sign in Peckham, South London that’s been bamboozling locals for nearly 15 years has finally been sorted out.

Although the cheeky sign pointed the way to Malibu and Laurel Canyon in sunny California, many local drivers say they didn’t even notice it.

Southwark Council fixed the sign, which locals believe was changed in 2010, after it was brought to their attention. Across the road, another sign shows the way to Rotherhithe and Peckham, and now the corrected sign mirrors this.

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The daft sign directed folks towards the star-studded beaches of Malibu and the celeb-packed hills of Laurel Canyon, where rock legends like Jim Morrison and Joni Mitchell used to hang out.

Southwark Council suggested that the alterted street sign was about to go unnoticed for so long, because Rotherhithe is a hotspot, like Malibu and Laurel Canyon.

Resident Joyce Kirton, 60, who’s been strolling past the sign for three decades, was gobsmacked when she realised the destinations were a tad further than her usual haunts.

She confessed: “I have never noticed that – and I’ve lived here for 30-odd years. Maybe it’s a joke, but I walk this way loads and I’ve never noticed it before,” reports MyLondon.

Christy, 29, originally from Ireland, but now lives across from the sign, said the American-forward sign had been there for the three years she’s been living in South London.

She said: “It has always been here. I don’t know if it’s an inside joke or something. I guess it’s a bit of a laugh. I noticed the Malibu sign but, myself not being British, I didn’t know if there was somewhere in southeast London called Malibu.”

Italian duo Gabriel and Lorena, were also duped into thinking that Malibu and Laurel Canyon might be part of London’s sprawling metropolis. A bemused Lorena confessed: “I thought maybe it was twinned with somewhere else. We have that in Italy. I thought it was a genuine sign for somewhere in London.”

Gabriel joked: “Maybe Malibu really is in that direction.”

Meanwhile, Christy’s flatmate, who just arrived to the area, said: “I spotted it as soon as I moved in. It reminds me of being in LA.”

Cllr James McAsh, Cabinet Member for Clean Air, Streets and Waste at Southwark Council ,joked: “You’d be forgiven for confusing Rotherhithe with Malibu or Laurel Canyon as popular places to live where history and nature meet. That might explain why the sign has gone under our radar and we are now in the midst of amending it.”

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