The name has confused tourists, motorists and probably a few locals too over the years.

Now plans to change Drayton's name to stop any confusion with its nearby namesake have been scuppered due to a further mix-up.

Drayton is one of the most common village names in the country, and Oxfordshire is blessed with two - one near Abingdon and another near Banbury.

Villagers in Drayton, near Abingdon, suggested changing their name to Drayton St Peter, until research found the Banbury version also uses that as its full name.

Resident Peter Fleming suggested the name change but the plans are now back to square one. The Banbury village takes its name from St Peter's church, a name shared with the church in Drayton, Abingdon.

Residents in both villages say re-naming the Abingdon version would be a good idea following years of confusion between them.

June Butler, a director of Dixon Signs, in Drayton, near Banbury, said she saw at least one person a month who had ended up in the wrong Drayton.

"I've had people in asking for 364 High Street and we've only got about 60 houses in the village," she said. "Drivers get very frustrated when they find they are about 30 miles away. People sometimes forget to put postcodes on letters, so that causes problems too. If they want to change their name it would be a good idea."

Michael Brown, landlord of The Roebuck Inn, Drayton, near Banbury, said: "We get a few people turning up with deliveries in the wrong Drayton. The trouble is most people don't put a full address and postcode on letters. It can cause great confusion so changing the name might help."

Douglas Webb, who lives in Drayton, near Banbury, and works at Drayton Leisure Golf Range, said deliveries of golf equipment had gone missing, only to turn up in the other village. "Unfortunately there is a driving range down there as well, so we have had stuff going to the wrong place. Some people put 'near Banbury' on the address but even that doesn't guarantee it gets here," he said.

"But if they want to change their name, then good on them. It will solve a few problems."

In Drayton, near Abingdon, the latest edition of the parish newsletter, The Drayton Chronicle, urged people to come forward with their views on a proposed name.

But now the whole idea is being dropped after the wife of a former vicar at the Church of St Peter pointed out the proposed title was already in use by the Banbury village and would only make matters worse. Parish clerk Jane Hornsby said: "It's been a very long term problem. There has been much confusion between the two Draytons.

"It is quite common for a village to take a suffix name based on its main church. But now we have this information it is unlikely the matter will be pursued further.

"We have had calls from people giving their opinion on the name. Some were in favour of changing and others were not. But now the idea has been scuppered, we don't need any more opinions."

Story date: Monday 24 May

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.