New iPhone maps relocate India's Taj Mahal off Brighton's Western Road (From The Argus)

New iPhone maps relocate India's Taj Mahal off Brighton's Western Road

12:20pm Wednesday 26th September 2012 in News By Ben James

It may cost you upwards of £500 but the new iPhone 5 won’t be able to navigate you to some of Brighton and Hove’s most well-known tourist attractions.

Niggling problems with Apple’s new map feature include the replacement of local sights, shops and amenities throughout the city with a few new landmarks also thrown in.

The city’s Victorian Clock Tower, which has proudly stood at the junction of North Street and Queen’s Road for 122 years, has been moved by the new phone.

Tourists may now struggle to find the listed structure with iPhone users incorrectly directed to nearby Brighthelm Park.

iPhone user Sophie Dent, 23, said: “It’s a bit silly really because it’s not in the right place.

“But it could affect tourism if people start going to the wrong places.”

Equally puzzling is the inclusion of a phantom service station at the south end of Lewes Road – sure to anger visiting drivers if they happen to be caught low on fuel.

The Royal Pavilion is thankfully located at Old Steine but residents of Bedford Place will be surprised to find the Taj Mahal in their midst according to the map – possibly after programmers became confused with the nearby Taj International Foods store.

Alan Wong, 30, a restaurant manager and tech enthusiast, said: “It’s just part of some initial teething problems which were to be expected as with any major product launch.”

Elsewhere in Sussex, Uckfield is gaining worldwide recognition as the forgotten town. Despite locals being able to trace the settlement’s roots to Anglo Saxon times, it has all but disappeared on Apple Maps.

What remains has been incorrectly located eight miles away in a farmer’s field.

Other mistakes already picked up on by customers include the disappearance of Helsinki’s main railway station along with Shakespeare’s birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon and London Paddington.

Elsewhere, Dublin has gained a new airport, St Katherine’s Dock in London has been filled with concrete and a grocery shop which closed down some 15 years ago has re-emerged.

Hotelier Nick Head, who runs the Ambassador Hotel in Brighton and is the chair of Sussex Tourism Partnership, said: “I think we all rely on our phones a little too much, it’s much safer to use an A to Z.

“It is quite surprising that they have misplaced tourist attractions such as the Clock Tower. You would think they would get that right.”

Did this story make you chuckle? Here are some more recent quirkies to tickle your fancy:

• Vortex to another dimension reported in Brighton
• Video: Heroic search and rescue team save trapped cat
• Warm spell brings out slithery snakes by score
• Revealed: The trials and tribulations of a Brighton and Hove traffic warden
• Brighton student protests in bra and pants over art ban