Billingham becomes Bellingham with ‘three lines’ on the sign

A road sign welcoming people to Billingham has had a “three lines” World Cup makeover, in honour of England’s star player Jude Bellingham.

A mystery fan delighted passers by applying three bits of electricians tape to the Teesside sign so it read Bellingham, after the player who had propelled the team forward with six goals in the tournament so far.

In the town, Billingham Catholic Club is also planning to change its name to Bellingham Catholic Club if it goes England’s way in the semi-final.

Bar manager Sean Rowbottom said if the team beat Argentina on Wednesday, he would make a “very swift phone call to the sign writers” to see if a sign could be made in time for Sunday’s final against Spain.

The second option would be to “just go up the ladder with a pot of paint and paint it on”, he said.

Rowbottom told BBC Radio Tees getting a new sign made up in three days would be a challenge, “but one that I’m sure we could rise to”.