Owner of Singhsbury's newsagents changes name to Morrisinghs after threat of legal action

'A lot of the customers come in here for the banter more than the actual service'

Morrisons spokesperson says: 'Mr Nagra and his customers obviously have good taste so we wish him well' (Morrisinghs/Facebook)

The owner of Singhsbury's newsagents has changed the store's name to Morrisinghs after being threatened with legal action.

Jel Singh Nagra said he was accused of copyright infringement by Sainsbury's in 2012, with the threat of possible court action.

The 42-year-old from North Tyneside swiftly took down his signs, but locals continued to refer to the shop as Singhsbury's.

Nearly five years later, Mr Nagra's customers encouraged him to come up with a similar name and he settled on Morrisinghs.


 After nearly five years, Jel Singh Nagra settled on the name Morrisinghs 
 (Morrisinghs/Facebook)

He told The Independent: "people missed the old name so we wanted something witty, with a little bit of banter. That's what we're all about. We've always had this sense of humour. I know 95 per cent of our customers by name."

“The sign makes us a talking point and it puts West Allotment on the map. This is just a little mining village. Now everyone's looking at this tiny little shop with this cheeky name and a cheeky little man behind the counter and saying, 'where's that?'"

He said he would put up a fight if anyone asked him to take his new sign down.

As for the customers, they "absolutely love it", said Mr Nagra. "They're all having a laugh and a joke about it."

He said he was initially expecting another letter from a "heavy handed" legal team, but Morrisons appear to have taken the sign in good spirits.

A spokesman for Morrisons told the BBC the retail giant was happy for him to keep the name.

"Mr Nagra and his customers obviously have good taste so we wish him well."

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said: “We were grateful to Mr Nagra for removing the sign.”