'Devilish' thieves target Torquay road signs

'Quite why it gets taken away so frequently, who knows?'

Souvenir hunters are targeting a Torquay street with a devilish history.

Light-fingered visitors are making off with street signs at Daddyhole Road in Torquay, close to a cave where the devil himself was once reputed to reside.

Torbay Council is having to replace the signs which keep disappearing.

Cllr Nick Bye (Con, Wellswood) told a cabinet meeting: “Quite why it gets taken away so frequently, who knows?”

The road leads on to Daddyhole Plain, which is one of the most popular viewpoints in the bay, commanding views across to Paignton and Brixham as well as far out into Lyme Bay.

Its name is reputed to come from the old Devon usage of the word ‘Daddy’ as a reference to the devil. Legend says the devil lived in a cave at the base of the cliffs, formed when a massive chunk of limestone fell into the sea, creating the ‘Daddyhole’.

The mystery of the missing signs was raised during a debate on how surplus money left over in the council coffers should be spent in local communities.

Cllr Darren Cowell (Ind, Shiphay) said some of it could be spent replacing some of the bay’s damaged street signs, and Cllr Bye said the signs had been keeping him and fellow Conservative Wellswood councillor Hazel Foster busy already.

“We have first-hand experience of how well our road sign department responds,” he said. “There are souvenir hunters who seem to be quite fascinated by the title of Daddyhole Road, and the sign keeps disappearing.

“Twice in this term of office we have had to get replacements.”