The Cheshire village that 'voted' to be part of Wales

A Cheshire village asked its residents if they wanted to 'apply to be part of Wales' in a light-hearted poll - but the move sparked media attention and debate across the country.

Fifteen years ago, villagers in Audlem, which is nine miles from Wales, were posed the question. It followed on from a previous April Fools' Day story around the subject, and while it was not meant as a serious campaign to realign the Welsh border - it did aim to highlight many differences between England and Wales, reports CheshireLive.

The large village of Audlem on the Shropshire Union Canal has a population of around 1,800, according to the latest Census figures. It lies barely within the county's southern border within the Cheshire East borough. It is around seven miles south of Nantwich, eight miles from Whitchurch in Shropshire and about 12 miles from Crewe. More importantly, however, it is approximately nine miles from Wales.

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But despite this, in 2008 local website Audlem Online, which has been run by locals since 2005, started a poll entitled: "Would you like Audlem to apply to be a part of Wales?" Publishing the news about the poll, Audlem Online reported that it had outlined a number of supposed benefits in its 'light-hearted' piece on April Fools' Day.

This included free prescriptions, free parking at NHS hospitals, more investment in its sports centre and a Grand Slam winning rugby team. Wales had of course won the Grand Slam in the 2008 Six Nations. But on the same day the spoof piece was published, the Government announced that prescription charges in England would rise in England. Meanwhile, they were lessened by £2 in Scotland and