Residents of Holestone Moor have been told the area they live and work in is not a "recognised geographical location" by county council officials, following pleas to provide location signs to recognise their hamlet.

Steve Clemerson who runs Holestone Moor Holiday Cottages said visitors found it very difficult to find his business.

He added: "It seems real enough to those of us who live here and try to contribute to the Derbyshire economy by running small rural businesses, but evidently the councils are unable to confirm our existence."

Mr Clemerson said residents were prepared to put up their own signs to identify the cluster of eight houses but were told Holestone Moor was not a recognised hamlet and signs would be considered illegal obstructions and be removed by council workers.

He added: "It seems the council is making up his own definition of a hamlet. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as a settlement smaller than a village with no church – which it is.

"However we seem to appear on the council's radar for just long enough for them to send us an annual council tax bill."

The 1851 tithe map, held at the county records office, identifies the hamlet and the Victorian burial clerks in Ashover also recorded Holestone Moor inhabitants.

As well as having no location road and no marked road the hamlet is invisible to satellite navigation systems.

A county council spokesman said: "The council can only supply signs to recognised geographical locations and does not consider that Holestone Moor is such a place.

"There are no distinct entry points to the 'hamlet' and it is not shown on local maps."