Larking about with facts annoys fans of city poet

PUBLISHERS of a new tourism guide for East Yorkshire have been left with red faces after making glaring errors in a profile of one of the region’s most famous former residents.

By The Newsroom

Published 6th Oct 2011, 10:22 BST

In a section entitled “10 Things You Didn’t Know”, the latest version of Welcome to Hull and East Yorkshire informs visitors: “World famous poet Phillip Larkin was born in Hull” – misspelling his name and doing a disservice to midwives in Coventry.

The blunders have upset Larkin aficionados in Hull, who unveiled a statue of the poet and a tourist trail during a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of his death last year.

Professor Graham Chesters, vice-chairman of the Philip Larkin Society, said: “It’s great to see a booklet like that and have something about Larkin in 10 things you didn’t know. I thought this is good, but I felt like screaming when I saw it.”

Nobody at the publisher Kingfisher Media Ltd was available for comment.