Rudest street names around the UK revealed

Streets with rude-sounding names like Crotch Crescent, Turkey Cock Lane, Bell End and The Knob could turn out to be a haven for property hunters looking to snap up a bargain, research suggests.

The study for website NeedaProperty.com looked for evidence of what impact living in a street with a suggestive name could have on the value of your home.

Properties on streets with innuendo-laden names were found to be around one fifth or £84,000 cheaper on average than other homes situated nearby.

Researchers asked 2,000 people to vote for the street name that they would be most embarrassed to have as their address from a long list and the top 15 were used for the study.

Minge Lane in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, was found to have the most embarrassment value, picking up almost one third (31%) of the vote.

Slag Lane in Lowton, Lancashire, followed closely behind, being selected by just over one quarter (26%) of people.

But two-fifths (40%) of all those surveyed said that a street name which some people might find embarrassing would not put them off living there themselves.

Residents of Fanny Hands Lane in Ludford, Lincolnshire - another of the streets that made the list - said they were not oblivious of its amusing name but did not think it made the houses any cheaper.

Retired Annie Gray, 60, who moved to Ludford from Croydon, south London, 12 years ago, said the road name was one of the reasons she and her husband decided to buy their bungalow.

"It was one of the factors because it's so unusual and always get a giggle," she said.

"If you're ever ordering anything and tell people your address, as soon as you say 'Fanny', they know exactly where you mean."

She continued: "I would think it's actually the other way round in terms of house prices.

"Magna Mile is just a main road, it's not a village, and if you think about it logically where would you prefer to live - on a little side street like this one or a main road with busy traffic?

"It certainly didn't seem to make a difference when we were looking to buy here."

The road name has attracted media attention in the past, Mrs Gray said, and the metal sign had been pilfered on a couple of occasions.

The lane acquired its name after Francis Hands, the niece of a local farmer, lived on the street, Mrs Gray said.

Janette Hill, 72, who also lives in the street, said she had been told the lane had been named after a woman called Fanny used to sit at the top of the road knitting.

Ms Hill moved from the south of the country to the Ludford road in 2007 and said the cheapness of the property attracted her and her partner, but added it did not seem any less expensive than others in the area.

Asked if she was bothered by the potentially embarrassing street name, she said: "We just didn't take any notice.

"You get people stopping at the top and taking pictures of the road sign but it doesn't bother me."

NeedaProperty.com commissioned a statistician to compare property prices in the 15 rude-sounding streets with homes situated on all other streets within a one quarter of a mile radius, using Land Registry sales figures.

Property prices on 11 out of the 15 streets were found to be "significantly cheaper" than local values typically. Across all the streets looked at, those with rude-sounding names were 22% or £84,000 less expensive on average.

Scott Green, CEO of NeedaProperty.com, said: "It seems there are bargains to be had for those who don't mind a bit of innuendo."

:: Here are the top 10 streets in order of those which people voted as having the most embarrassing names, with the percentage of people who voted each name as embarrassing followed by the price of a property on the street and an example of the price of a similar property nearby:

1. Minge Lane, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, 31%, Detached house - £253,389, Detached house in Longfield - £325,000

2. Slag Lane, Lowton, Lancashire, 26%, Semi-detached house - £112,620, Semi-detached house in Fieldfare Close - £141,297

3. Fanny Hands Lane, Ludford, Lincolnshire, 24.9%, Detached house, £157,200, Detached house in Magna Mile, £236,987

4. Bell End, Rowley Regis, West Midlands, 22.5%, Semi-detached house, £126,409, Semi-detached house in Uplands Avenue, £187,027

5. Crotch Crescent, Marston, Oxfordshire, 19.6%, Terraced house, £238,250, Terraced house in Ouseley Close, £280,500

6. The Knob, Kings Sutton, Northamptonshire, 17%, Semi-detached house, £245,000, Semi-detached house in Glebe Rise, £249,000

7. Turkey Cock Lane, Stanway, Essex, 10.8%, Terraced house, £177,527, Terraced house in London Road, £166,840

8. Cockshoot Close, Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, 10.1%, Semi-detached house, £286,536, Semi-detached house in Longore, £304,794

9. Cumming Street, Islington, London, 8.9%, Flat, £292,768, Flat in Britannia Street, £358,419
10. Cock A-Dobby, Sandhurst, Berkshire, 6.5%, Detached house, £456,481, Detached house in Longdown Road, £615,000