MINIONS, England, Oct. 2 (UPI) — The village of Minions, England, removed a sign featuring the yellow cartoon creatures of the same name amid safety concerns from people stopping to snap photos.
The sign, erected in May at the entrance to Minions as part of a deal with Universal Studios to promote the Despicable Me spinoff film, features three of the cartoon characters posing with the town’s name and holding a sign reading, “Please drive carefully.”
The Minions sign proved popular with travelers, as evidenced by the dozens of pictures posted to Twitter featuring motorists stopped to take photos with the sign.
Cornwall Council said the sign was never meant to be permanent.
“The sign was erected as a temporary measure to celebrate the release of the Minions film and was paid for by the film company,” the council said in a statement to the BBC. “It is being removed today and returned to the firm as agreed.”
Some local businesses had lobbied to keep the sign in place to help boost tourism, but Carl Hearn, Linkinhorne Parish Council chairman, said officials were concerned about motorists “stopping in front of the sign in order to have photographs taken.”
“It’s really the fact that you don’t necessarily want people having children in the road,” he said. “We’re just trying to keep the village as safe as we possibly can.”
