A campaign has been launched in the historic village of Lunt to change its name because vandals keep defacing road signs. The not-so-witty pranksters constantly change the village's name to an extremely rude swear word, reports the Daily Telegraph. However, the proposal is dividing villagers in the Merseyside community who say they should not have to give up a name that has been around since the 13th century. Martyn Ball, a retired police officer and prospective Conservative councillor, is urging residents to support the move because he is fed up with the graffiti which greets visitors to the village. He said: "We are all painfully aware of the repeated times our village sign is defaced by mindless yobs who change the L to a C. "Drive in every day and you see a very offensive word." Dr Ball has suggested Launt as an alternative name, which he says would be pronounced the same. However, others in the village say the vandals should not be allowed to ruin their heritage. Steward Dobson, 84, a parish councillor, said: "This village is very, very old and people don't want the name changed." David Roughley, whose family has farmed in Lunt since 1851, added: "At the end of the day we live in Lunt and we don't want to change because of a few yobs. It is the vandals who should change, not the village."