That the unassuming Dorset village of Wool derives its name from an ancient word for well, or water spring, appears to have fallen by the wayside.

No matter. Animal rights activists have declared the name an affront to sheep the world over, claiming it promotes hideous animal cruelty.

In what will surely go down as one of the great campaigns of our age, they have demanded that the village is renamed Vegan Wool, forcing the local parish council to debate the issue.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the residents of Wool, along with many others, have lined up to ridicule PETA, the animal rights charity behind the request, many expressing concern about the fate of historic locations such as Ham, Cheddar Gorge and Melton Mowbray.

Elisa Allen, director of PETA, has written to Wool Parish Council to request the change in order to “promote kindness to sheep”.

In a bid to soften the blow, she has vowed to give a “cruelty-free” woollen blanket to all 2,000 households in the village if they agree to the suggestion.