THEY could have been living in Cowpat Lane. Yet, ironically, a road name meant to pay homage to a legendary Hampshire comedian is causing more of a stink.

Residents living in Benny Hill Close, Eastleigh have complained that their address is embarrassing - even though one alternative suggestion was Cowpat Lane.

Homeowner Glenn Chevis has even gone as far as asking Eastleigh council to give him an address with "more dignity" after branding Hill a "smutty, sexist idiot".

In contrast, neighbours Bernita and Dominic Frost from Zimbabwe maintain it is an honour living on a street named after the borough's most famous funnyman.

Dominic, 40, an assistant technical officer, said: "Everyone in Zimbabwe enjoys Benny Hill. We used to watch him every Sunday.

"His sense of humour is exactly what most Zimbabweans enjoy. It's an honour to live in a road named after him."

The couple said they would turn their noses up at living on Cowpat Lane.

Teacher Bernita, 40, said: "We would have disagreed with that."

The controversy began when Mr Chevis, 67, was told his address after moving into his new flat from Winchester.

The 67-year-old, who neglected to ask the name of the road before buying the property, thought sales staff were joking when they said it was Benny Hill Close.

He immediately wrote to Eastleigh Council, asking: "Is there any chance that the name of this close can be changed to one having a little more dignity?

"The mental image evoked by Benny Hill's name must have been the same for councillors as everyone else - that of his television persona, a smutty sexist idiot."

Former councillor Bill Luffman said residents should be grateful they do not live in Cowpat Lane, which was one of several names put forward at a local area committee meeting when members voted on what the road should be called.

Councillor Luffman said: "I said that was absolutely ridiculous and that no one would want it."

Instead he suggested names of people who had contributed to Eastleigh in some way. Benny Hill spent his teenage years in the borough where he worked as a milkman. He died in 1992 aged 68.

Hill was well-known for his racy humour and had a long-running TV show in which he was often seen with his cap askew as character Fred Scuttle. He also hit the music charts in 1971 with his record Ernie, The Fastest Milkman in the West.

Carol Woodgate, a sales representative for Kings Oak who developed the site, said most residents were well aware what their address would be when they bought their homes, priced from £126,000.

She said: "They sold very well. It didn't put anybody off. They're quite happy with it and they think it's quite amusing."

She said the name furore had not dented sales on the second phase of the Leigh Road Pirelli site at all.

Councillors are set to consider whether or not to change the name of the close. Steve Sollitt, chairman of Eastleigh Local Area Committee, said he would consult council officers if it emerged a majority of residents were unhappy with the name.