Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' mysteriously appears on road sign in Low Wham, County Durham

21 December 2020, 11:44 | Updated: 21 December 2020, 11:47

Locals in County Durham were given an early Christmas surprise when the road sign to 'Low Wham' was updated with the title of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's 1984 festive classic.

A road sign in County Durham has been mysteriously changed to include the title of Wham!'s 1984 song, 'Last Christmas'.

The sign, which used to direct drivers to a local area called Low Wham, has been amended to read 'Last Christmas Wham!' in a tribute to George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's classic song which is still a hit 36 years after it was first released.

See more: The Story of... 'Last Christmas' by Wham! - as told by Andrew Ridgeley

The new road sign was discovered by locals on Friday (December 18) in the area of Butterknowle, Bishop Auckland and was immediately shared on Twitter by photographer Nathan Atkinson.

The Story of... 'Last Christmas' with Andrew Ridgeley

Taking to the social media site, he wrote: "You can’t say the North East don’t have a sense of humour. A road sign near the hamlet of Wham has been given a Christmassy feel."

See more: When George Michael was exposed on This Morning as secret £50,000 donor who sent needy kids to Lapland

The anonymous sign adapter has remained silent so far, but it hasn't stopped locals and Twitter users - and George Michael fans in particular - loving the newly named area.

A George Michael fan group wrote: “Is this a good luck omen?”, another wrote: “Oh man, that’s brilliant.”

See more: Andrew Ridgeley "misses" George Michael: Wham! bandmate opens up over grief

Wham! - Last Christmas (Official Video)

See more: 19-year-old George Michael's phenomenal first TV appearance with Wham! - watch video

One local woman on social media said: “It wasn’t me. Whenever I say where I live (I) always get people saying ‘Really, as in George Michael’ Blink and you will have missed Wham, we are tiny.”

Another woman said: “Someone with a great sense of humour”, another added: “Love this”, while one person said: “Made me laugh out loud, this is just what we need in these very challenging times.”

See next: QUIZ: How well do you know the lyrics to Wham!'s 'Last Christmas'?

Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' is the best-selling UK single to never reach number one. It has sold just under 2 million copies (not including streaming) and despite never becoming a number one single, it is still on the UK's favourite Christmas songs of all time.