A competition launched last month to find the official name for the South Devon Link Road has received over 1000 entries from across the UK.

Devon County Council and Torbay Council, along with Galliford Try - the contractors responsible for constructing the road – launched the competition to get ideas for the official name of the new road.

The response was incredible: within the space of four weeks over 1000 entries were submitted.

Many of the suggestions relate to famous historical or literary figures from the area, whilst others focused on geographical features around the Torbay area. Some of the more unusual suggestions included Timmynoggy (a device that saves time and labour) and Megamorphic Way.

Many entries demonstrated a keen sense of humour. While the Fawlty Towers’ Torquay connection influenced some suggestions, others referred to the long history of the bypass or local Devonian expressions.

Whilst most entries came from the local area, many suggestions came from the greater South West and beyond, one being from as far away as Lancashire.

The official name will be used on signposts, maps and the Internet - it will become the authorised, formal name used when describing the road.

The next stage is to choose the winning name, which will be selected by a panel comprising representatives including Devon County Council, Torbay Council, Teignbridge Council and Kingskerswell Parish Council. It is anticipated that the chosen name will be announced in early summer. The winner will be invited to attend the formal opening of the new road - if more than one person has suggested the same winning idea, a name will be drawn out of a hat.

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said: “We’ve had a fantastic response to the competition and have received some really imaginative suggestions. We’d like to say thank you to everyone who has submitted their ideas and we’ll be going through the list in due course.”

Devon Leader and Torbay Mayor, Gordon Oliver said: “The volume of entries to the competition has been really impressive. It shows both how strongly the people of the area want to get involved in naming the road, but also the increasing sense of anticipation and excitement as construction progresses.”

Cllr Jeremy Christophers, Leader of Teignbridge District Council said: “This is a brilliant step forward in naming the road and we’re really pleased so many people took part. We look forward to deciding upon the winner.”

Chris Hastings, Project Director at Galliford Try, said: “This idea has captured the community’s imagination and we’ve been really impressed with the suggestions submitted.”