Speculation is rife about who an apology sign installed above the A127 is for.

The sign, which reads ‘I’m sorry Tom, please forgive me’, has been put up near Rayleigh Weir and has caught the attention of thousands of drivers this week.

The search for Tom and the person behind the sign has so far been in vain, but there are plenty of ideas behind the public apology circulating on social media.

Some have suggested the sign refers to the children’s cartoon, Tom and Jerry, with the mouse issuing a long-awaited apology to the cat after years of tormenting him.

Other ideas being suggested so far include a sign put up for new Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley.

When responding to the Echo’s initial story on Facebook, Chris Bits commented: “Poster for Tom Daley - they did not believe in him getting a gold lol.”

Phil Lees suggested it may have been an argument over dinner, adding: “Once she burns the dinner there’s no going back Tom.”

Other eagle-eyed readers have been quick to spot the glaring mistake on the sign, with Richard Lambourne commenting: “Clearly what you've done is left out the apostrophe. It's I'm not IM”

Speculation has also been mounting on Twitter, with one user saying: “Sorry she blew the nest egg on tickets for Chelmsford Motorfest?”

Another said: “It's a message from ground control” – referring to the lyrics in David Bowie’s song, Space Oddity.

Another Twitter user fears the punctuation error in the sign could even create the need for a second apology, stating: “I hope whoever upset Tom wasn't apologising for poor punctuation, because that banner would be more of a second insult.”

If you know who the Tom in the banner is referring to or who was behind the banner, then contact ellis.whitehouse@newsquest.co.uk.