Swindon's 'New Year Not Noticed Nutty Day' A Great Big Success

As people get back into the swing of the 9 to 5 following Monday's New Year celebrations, people working in Swindon service sector did some reveling of their own on Tuesday with the town's New Year Not Noticed Nutty Day 2007 being hailed the best yet.

The annual event gives those working in shops, supermarkets, newsagents, bakeries, market stalls, public transport and hospital workers the chance to be as outrageous as possible in their daily tasks. Brian Willis, 51, chairman of the Swindon New Year Nutty Day Organising Group summed up the origins of the event, '' while most people have Christmas and New Year off work, those who do the vital jobs that keep our town going have to work over this season, therefore with people going back to work being so tired and cranky they usually don't notice when somethings changed, so we started to dress up and subtley alter the services provided to see if anyone sees anything different on their first day back.''

Several of the practical jokes played on Swindonians yesterday included Thamesdown and Stagecoach advertising that services number 7, 54 and 16 and 17 would all start and terminate in Cheltenham, First Great Western got in on the act by running several services to London via Birmingham. Most commuters didn't notice. A coffee shop in town swapped milk as an ingredient in its beverages with bucks fizz and nurses at the GWH dressed up as dracula on the maternity ward.

Ideas are already being tabled for next year's Nutty Day pranks.