Parton road sign turned into Dolly tribute

A road sign pointing to a village sharing Dolly Parton's surname has been turned into a tribute with the addition of some aptly-placed orange stickers.

Fans and celebrities around the world have been paying tribute to the singer, actress and businesswoman, who died from cancer aged 80 earlier this week.

A road sign on the A595 at the Rosehill Road junction in Cumbria, showing the way to Whitehaven, Barrow and Parton, had "Dolly" added before Parton and "RIP" afterwards.

Parton Village Hall volunteer Tracey Tumelty said everybody was talking about the stickers, which she thought were an "excellent idea".

Whitehaven Town Council deputy mayor Chris Hayes said: "There's a huge Dolly following in Whitehaven - she was a very popular lady here.

"We all understand why people have done it, but it is against the law."

Putting unauthorised stickers or posters in public spaces is legally classified as fly-posting or criminal damage.

Hayes said what happened to the stickers was Cumberland Council's responsibility. The authority has been approached for comment.

Another volunteer at the hall, Stephen Tumelty, said the village "had no connection to Dolly but our name, so it's nice".

"I don't know who has done it but it's very good," he said.

His wife said the village hall planned to host a special line-dancing event in homage to the country star.

The road sign tribute also "caught the eye" of Ashton-Lee Humphreys, who lives in a neighbouring village, and she said it had made her smile as she was travelling on Wednesday.

"I thought, oh, how sweet is that?" she said.

"Who didn't like Dolly? She was fantastic.

"I think Dolly would be really happy being memorialised as part of Parton and I hope the tribute stays up for a long time."

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