Aldi: Cyffylliog fake Aldi Google Maps prank ’causes havoc’

Residents in a rural village are urging people not to travel there in search of a supermarket giant falsely included in a map of the area.

Villagers in Cyffylliog in Denbighshire, said a stream of cars have recently come through the area and a milk tanker became stuck after Google Maps said Aldi had a store there.

The village has a population of about 500 and while some residents acknowledged the funny side of the mishap, others said it was very “serious”.

Google said the listing had been updated and it “worked around the clock” to rectify suspicious behaviour.

In what appears to be a prank, residents said a farm above Cyffylliog’s name was changed to show an Aldi store there and that over recent weeks many people over had arrived looking to do their shopping.

But navigating the rural windy roads can be difficult, especially for one milk tanker which became stuck on a narrow bend.

Llinos Watkin Jones, who was looking after her daughter’s house in the village, said: “It is a small village and it does cause havoc because when we get big lorries through and they get stuck it causes problems for us.”

Ms Watkin Jones said the tanker had also ripped an overhead electricity cable from her daughter’s house when passing.

Local councillor Elfed Williams acknowledged the humour, but said the apparent joke did have a serious side.

“Anybody who knows the area knows it’s back roads and windy roads and really unsuitable for people to come along,” he said.

“People have been bemused by not finding an Aldi store here… on one level it’s amusing but on another level it is quite serious – where are the controls for Google to allow such a thing to happen?”

After a local farmer helped the lorry driver become unstuck, the pin on Google Maps was taken down and the number of people travelling through Cyffylliog has returned to normal.

A spokesperson for Google said: “Our automated systems and trained operators work around-the-clock to monitor Maps for suspicious behaviour, including incorrect edits to places.

“We also make it easy for people to report misleading places and inappropriate content, which helps us keep the information on Maps authentic and reliable.”