So-called 'postcode snobs' have complained that a new sign welcoming visitors to an Oxford estate may send the price of their neighbouring homes tumbling.

A 'Welcome to Blackbird Leys Sign' was put up last month on the parish boundary above the Eastern Bypass flyover to give the estate a friendlier face to incoming visitors.

But now people living near the £500 sign on the fringes of Blackbird Leys and in the Littlemore parish have complained it should be moved because it wrongly associates them with the estate and its past reputation.

One resident living yards from the sign, but in the Littlemore parish on Sandy Lane West, has complained to Oxford City Council claiming the sign had taken £30,000 off the price of their house.

None of the neighbours in the area visited by the Oxford Mail in the past few days have admitted they had made the call to the council, but some backed the complaint.

Blackbird Leys Parish Council, which paid and installed the sign, has accused the homeowners living near Sandy Lane West in Littlemore of 'snobbery'.

A 41-year-old mother-of-one, who lives in Sandy Lane West less than 100 yards from the signpost, said: "I would rather it wasn't there but I've got friends in Blackbird Leys and I don't want them to think I'm a snob.

"I always tell people I live in Cowley or Littlemore not Blackbird Leys."

Another neighbour, a mum-of-two, added: "I think it would affect the house insurance and the house price if people thought I was in Blackbird Leys.

"We are always getting confused with Blackbird Leys but we bought this house because it was in Littlemore."

A 75-year-old man living opposite the sign, in Broadfields in Littlemore, said: "I don't really want to be associated with Blackbird Leys. I think it puts people off."

Despite the complaint there are no plans for the sign and more are earmarked for other entrances to the estate.

Parish council chairman Brian Lester said: "We've got no worries where the sign is. It is on the parish boundary.

"I think this reaction it sad and I believe it's snobbery. I'm proud to live in Blackbird Leys and like any big estate its had its problems in the past but this is a positive welcome to people coming here."

Blackbird Leys has tried hard in recent years to remove a reputation for crime, drugs and joyriding gained in the 1990s.

Fred Mogridge, of Littlemore Parish Council, said: "The logical thing would be to bring the sign back 10 yards or so."

The boundary between Littlemore and Blackbird Leys cuts through Sandy Lane West at Costar Close.

A spokesman for Oxford City Council confirmed the signpost is in the correct place.