You’re booked: for being a vigilante apostrophe pedant

A self-styled ‘grammar vigilante’ has revealed how he has changed offending shop signs under cover of dark for over a decade.

In a less conventional zero-tolerance stance on bad punctuation than Lynne Truss’s bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves, the man wields a broom handle with two sponges at one end to apply stickers to dozens of missing and misplaced apostrophes on the highest shop banners.

The jury’s out on whether the middle-aged vigilante, who won’t reveal his identity, has actually committed any crime. He claims his efforts are needed to bring an end to the improper use of English. But even more pedantic critics suggest he should start by correcting his own alias as apostrophes are punctuation marks.

“I’m a grammar vigilante. I do think it’s a cause worth pursuing. I have felt extremely nervous. The heart has been thumping,” he told the BBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds4RlD35Mpc

Some owners of shops and commercial premises who have fallen foul of the apostrophe vigilante are not bothered by his actions.

However, Jason Singh who owns a tailors called Tux & Tails, claims that he potentially faces paying thousands of pounds for his new vinyl sign to be corrected, because the omission of the apostrophe in ‘Gentlemens’ was corrected.

“We think it’s paint, and this is vinyl, so if we have to replace it you’re looking at a few thousand pounds … At the end of the day I’d have preferred him to come in and tell me,” said Singh, who thinks there may even be grounds for a police complaint. “And if his name is revealed, I’ll be sending him an invoice for the damages,” he added.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said the force was unaware of any complaints being lodged, but any permanent damage caused could provide grounds for police intervention.

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