Wakefield Council has done a Brum and dropped possessive apostrophes from street names, prompting a further wave of linguistic indignation from the good burghers of Middle England.

According to the Telegraph, the move is intended to "avoid confusion". The council's director for planning and property, Ian Thompson, defended: "Apostrophes are not generally used in street names as they can lead to problems and confusion when data is transferred electronically for other uses. To avoid confusion our practice has been not to use apostrophes."

Marie Clair of the Plain English Campaign kicked off the protests, demanding: "I'd like to know if they are planning to remove apostrophes from all council documents as well. All the feedback we have had suggests that people want to hold on to the apostrophe. I think the council should listen to its rate payers."

Next in line was John Richards of the Apostrophe Protection Society, who said: "The council should aim its efforts to ensuring that apostrophes are used correctly, not deciding to erase them altogether. It is choosing the easy way out, dumbing down and showing contempt for the large number of area's residents who take a pride in the English language."