BRIGHT blue safety signs installed next to Haworth's historic Top Withens ruins are to be replaced following a public outcry.

Yorkshire Water confirmed this week that following a largely negative reaction to the three signs – as revealed in last week's Keighley News – it has listened to public demand and will replace them with notices more in keeping with the scenic landscape.

Top Withens is a ruined farmhouse, which has been unoccupied since 1926. It is popular with literary tourists due to some people associating it with the Earnshaw home in Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte’s famous novel.

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said: "The signs will be replaced with alternatives that blend more sympathetically into their Brontë country setting.

"The new signs will be co-designed by the Brontë Society and Yorkshire Water, with the promise they will be more in keeping with the rural area."

The news has provoked a delighted reaction from councillors and members of the public who had hit out at the existing signs' siting and appearance. They argued they detract from the remote, atmospheric setting of the ruined farmhouse building.

Stanbury resident, Lesley O'Brien, who had contacted Yorkshire Water to suggest how these safety warnings could be designed more sensitively, thanked the company for responding positively to people's concerns.

"I'm delighted Yorkshire Water has engaged with the local community and taken on board the concerns raised," she said.

Worth Valley ward councillor, Glen Miller, said: "I welcome this news and I wait to see the outcome of the discussions between Yorkshire Water and the Brontë Society.

"I also think Bradford Council's rights of way department should be involved because it does have experience in this area."

Fellow Worth Valley ward councillor, Russell Brown, said parts of the walls of Top Withens are unstable, so the new signs still need to be visible enough to warn visitors of the potential danger.

The current signs were put up to warn people not to sit or climb on the ruins of Top Withens due to the risk of injury from loose stones.

The company's spokesman added: "We recognise there has been some negative responses to these well-intentioned safety signs, so we are pleased to say we will work with the Brontë Society to change them.

"The new signs will be carefully designed so they blend in better with their location, and we hope to unveil them as soon as possible.

"This is an area we are proud to be associated with, and the new signs will celebrate the area by informing passers-by of the building’s famous links with the Brontë sisters.”

A Brontë Society spokesman said: “Although the association of Top Withens with Wuthering Heights from Emily Brontë’s novel of the same name is a loose one, we recognise that for many people the site holds a special significance.

"The Brontë Society is delighted to be working with Yorkshire Water to help them produce signs that are more sympathetic to this inspirational landscape.”