Hundreds of tourists directed to nondescript Norwegian village thanks to Google Maps gaffe

Residents of a quiet village in Norway have been inundated with tourists thanks to an error on Google Maps, local media reports.

According to Stavanger Aftenbald, tourists seeking the famous Preikestolen cliffs have instead been sent to the village of Fossmork, which is 20 miles away, on the other side of a fjord.

"When we are in the cabin, sometimes two, three, four or five tourists come in – every day," Gunnar Bøe, a local resident, told the newspaper.

"They say they are going to Preikestolen and understand nothing. Google Maps leads them over the Lysefjord bridge and into Fossmork. The road here is quite narrow and they sometimes get quite upset when we tell them to go back."

Making matters worse for the hapless tourists, said Mr Bøe, is the fact that they can see other tourists frolikking on Preikestolen from the village.

"They borrow a set of binoculars and can see all the people up on Preikestolen – it's quite funny," he told the newspaper.

Another resident claimed up to 15 cars were turning up daily due to the error.

A spokesperson for Google said the company would resolve the issue as soon as possible and encouraged others to report similar errors.