In a much welcomed announcement it has been confirmed that the American accent is likely to be banned worldwide by the end of the decade because "it is just too annoying".
The unanimous global consensus was confirmed in a statement by Brian Sane, 45, of Barnstaple yesterday.
Mr Sane said "It's no longer a question of "if" but "when" the ban will come into force, although he would not be drawn on the thorny question of an acceptable replacement accent, saying, "quite frankly any alternative accent is likely to be widely endorsed (apart from maybe certain types of "Geordie" or an over emphasised French accent). World markets responded positively to the news, rising on average by over 8 points.