EASTCOTE is hoping to reclaim its identity after unveiling four new welcome signs, just in case anyone forgets where they are.

The Metroland town is sandwiched between two postcode districts - Ruislip and Pinner - shares two MPs and is even without a council ward to call its own.

But with a new housing estate boosting the population by up to 10 per cent, Eastcote Residents' Association (ERA) wants to restore the sense of 'belonging' to an area which has just as much history as its neighbours.

Chris Groom, ERA chairman, told the Gazette: "The problem is everyone here seems to live in Pinner or Ruislip according to the Post Office. It used to be the case for Ickenham but they got the Post Office to recognise them and we might go down that route.

"We want people to think of Eastcote as its own place, it is about putting it on the map. Our modern identity is as a commuter town but Eastcote has some wonderful history. Even the Tudor Lodge in Eastcote village puts Pinner on its sign. It is quite annoying. It may be because Pinner has more of an old-fashioned high street, whereas our high street is Metroland from the early 20th century."

One thing Eastcote does have is its own tube station, on the Metropolitan line, but even 20th century poet John Betjeman failed to reference the town in his poems about the impact of the new railway. Instead he wrote about Ruislip, Pinner, Northolt and Harrow.

Mr Groom continued: "It's not that these places are older than Eastcote. It is just that Pinner became a town a lot quicker, while Eastcote was a hamlet for a long time. We were in the parish of Ruislip only until St Lawrence Church was built 70 years ago. Now we have our own parish. It takes time but we hope to convince people that Eastcote exists."

ERA made a request to Hillingdon Council for the welcome signs and they were erected in June, at the suggestion and encouragement of Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP John Randall, whose expanded constituency now includes half of Eastcote.

Another sticking point however is the names of Eastcote's electoral wards. "No one has any idea what Cavendish is, it is just for parliamentary reasons. We just want people to not take too much notice," Mr Groom said. "People in Southbourne Gardens live in Eastcote, not Cavendish. I don't want to hear anyone say that."

The hope is that the estimated 1,500 new residents currently moving in to the new estate at RAF Eastcote, known locally as Pembroke Park, will identify themselves with Eastcote instead of their Ruislip postcode.

Allen McLaurin is secretary of the new Pembroke Park Residents' Association. He said: "It is a pleasant place to live, we moved here last October from the north of England. It is an attractive little town, everything is available that you need and it has an interesting history as well."