Abbey Road street sign to be sold

LONDON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A 6-year-old, graffiti-covered Abbey Road street sign is being sold on eBay to raise money for London's transportation department.

The street was made famous when The Beatles rock 'n' roll band named an album after it and used a photo of it on the cover 40 years ago.

The BBC said a new sign is to be installed in place of the one being auctioned.

"This is a rare opportunity for someone to own a precious piece of Beatles memorabilia and Westminster history," Councillor Danny Chalkley, cabinet member for city management, told the British broadcaster.

"Auctioning old, redundant street signs is an innovative way of offsetting the costs we would incur anyway, as these needed replacing," added Martin Low, director of transportation. "As an efficient council we are always looking for new ways to offer value for money and this is a great way for people to get hold of one of our iconic street signs and make some money for the council to invest in its streets."

The BBC did not say when the sign is to hit the digital auction block.