Slough's elite neighbours aim to end postcode link

As if Slough had not suffered enough, it has been subjected to the indignity of elitist neighbours demanding a new postcode to distinguish them from the Berkshire town.

The people of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead appear to have had enough of being linked with the town that John Betjeman wanted bombs to fall upon and Ricky Gervais chose as the home for his odious boss in the BBC comedy The Office.

The royal borough shares a postcode with Slough, but Sam Sethi, a marketing consultant from Cookham Dean, near Maidenhead, has launched a campaign to sever the link.

Mr Sethi, 36, wants Windsor and Maidenhead to be given its own postcode, WM, and is claiming the support of nearly 300 people.

He said Slough's higher crime rates pushed up insurance premiums for everyone in the SL postcode but admitted much of the motivation was snobbery. "Most people don't want to be associated with Slough if they can help it, and that is probably true of people who live in Slough as well," he said.

Rob Anderson, leader of Slough Borough Council, said: "We are the fastest-growing town in the country. There are 120,000 people here and they can't all be wrong."