BASINGSTOKE has been wiped off the map.

That’s according to Google Maps, who appear to have replaced Basingstoke with the words “Town Centre”.

Areas in Basingstoke such as Beggarwood and Lychpit are still named, as are neighbouring towns, such as Aldershot and Fleet.

But when The Gazette used the website this afternoon, the word Basingstoke does not appear at all, at any level of zoom.

Google has apologised for the mix-up.

An spokesman said: "An engineer is quite literally putting Basingstoke on the map."

But on some internet browsers, the word Basingstoke does not appear until users zoom right into the town.

Councillor Clive Sanders, leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, told The Gazette: “Everybody can make mistakes, they just better put it right.

“Of course we want to have Basingstoke on the map. It is one of the jewels in the crown in the South of England. We certainly do not want to be hiding Basingstoke.”