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Streets should not be named after local heroes in case they are later found to be paedophiles, councils told

Streets should no longer be named after local heroes because they might one day be found to be paedophiles, according to official guidance.

Councils have been told that places should not be named after individuals - including fallen soldiers - in case they are later linked to "inappropriate activities".

The move comes after hundreds of streets, footpaths and plaques named after Jimmy Savile had to be altered when the star was exposed as a child abuser.

The Local Government Association has defended the decision, arguing it would save taxpayers' money in the future.

But opponents, including a government minister, said it was wrong to prevent communities from honouring their heroes.

The new rules have been issued by Geoplace, the local government quango that oversees the official database of addresses used by councils and emergency services.

Darren Rodwell, the leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said that under the revised guidelines the council would not have been able to name two streets in honour of Alex Guy and Luke Allsopp, soldiers who were killed while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I’m frankly staggered someone has spent time and energy coming up with these guidelines,” he said. “If this was thought up years ago, Churchill would not have places named after him and, who knows, we would have had to think twice about naming Trafalgar Square.”

Tony Harbour, a councillor for Didcot North East, in Oxfordshire, who championed the renaming of local streets in honour of seven bomb disposal experts from Vauxhall barracks, said he was “totally and utterly against” the guidance.

“This is one way that we can recognise the service that has been given, but also for our communities to feel involved. This is their way of saying thank you.

“We have to look at life as a whole here. Unfortunately, the likes of Jimmy Savile do happen, but very infrequently. Why should good men and women not be recognised because of a couple of rotten apples?”

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Marcus Jones, the Minister for Local Government, said he was also against the clampdown, adding that naming streets after local heroes was an “excellent way” of commemorating individuals who “give their lives in service of their country.”

The new protocol has been introduced as part of a nationwide initiative to improve the National Land and Property Gazetteer, which is used by the emergency services and other national bodies.

Councils have also been asked to ban the word “the” from all new place names on the grounds that it  causes confusion and lengthy delays for the emergency services.

Response teams have complained that vital seconds are being lost attempting to clarify if someone lives at, for example, “17 The Avenue” or “17 Avenue”.

Opponents pointed out that The Mall in London, one of Britain's most iconic streets, would fall foul of the new rules.

The changes come after expensive efforts by local authorities to remove any lingering reminders of Jimmy Savile.

After the scandal to light in 2012, hundreds of streets, footpaths, plaques and statues were scrubbed and renamed across the country.

They included Savile’s View, a footpath in Scarborough, and Savile’s Hall conference centre in Leeds, which was renamed New Dock Hall in 2012, costing Royal Armouries International more than £50,000.

Some councils have already adopted the new guidelines. In policy documents obtained by  the Telegraph, Breckland council in Norfolk said it would “strongly advise” against using people’s names as they had the potential to cause “ill feeling”.

“It avoids the possible occurrence of future information coming to light that may then taint that specific road name based on an individual and give rise to costly street rename procedures,” the documents claim.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said the new guidance would help reduce the “significant cost” and “practical difficulties” that could result from changing other street names in the future.