Man paints massive 'Welcome to Perth' sign on roof of building next to Sydney Airport

A similar sign in the United States has been fooling people for over 30 years.
A similar sign in the United States has been fooling people for over 30 years. Photo credit: Reddit

A Sydney business owner has played a large-scale prank on travellers arriving at the city's airport.

Brad Heasman wrote the words 'Welcome to Perth' on the roof of his warehouse, which just so happens to sit underneath the approach to Sydney International Airport, some 3290 km from Perth.

Heasman told 7 News he decided to paint the sign  "just to give people a bit of a fright and have a laugh".

A photo taken by a passenger landing in Sydney of the sign has since been seen by thousands of people on Reddit.

"There's always planes going overhead here so I have a little giggle to myself every time I see one." Heasman said.

The prank took a bit of commitment, and money. The paint job cost around AU$4500 in total.

"There's all glass crystals in there so it reflects nicely at night time," he said of the paint job.

The prankster took inspiration from a similar prank in the United States, where a sign on top of a building in Milwaukee says "Welcome to Cleveland." The Wisconsin sign still catches people out, despite the fact it's been there since 1978.

As for the sign in Sydney, Heasman said the sign wasn't a dig at Western Australians.

"It's the furthest place away, so I figured it would give the biggest scare to anyone who was landing."

"It was also the easiest one to write," Heasman said.