A restaurant owner has spoken of his anger after the pavement outside one of Newcastle's oldest buildings was defaced with an advert for a Love Island inspired clothing range.
Staff at Blackfriars Restaurant, housed in a 13th century Grade I listed building, were horrified when they discovered an advert for online fashion retailer I Saw It First had appeared on the path outside their front door on Monday.
The website has teamed up with reality television show Love Island to launch a summer clothing range to coincide with the start of a new series.
An advert for the collection appeared on the stonework outside the Blackfriars building, in Newcastle city centre , which was built in 1239.
It was removed on Tuesday morning.
The restaurant's owner Andy Hook has told ChronicleLive of his anger.
He said: "It just seems mindless and inconsiderate. You wouldn't do that outside a cathedral or at Stonehenge. We have to be extremely careful with the way we look after the building.
"We have been passionate about Blackfriars' heritage for 20 years now and we have been promoting the heritage for 20 years. It's what we do.
"We have schoolchildren come to visit, we give endless tours. To have this so close to the entrance. it just looks like we are supporting this brand, which we clearly don't."
Blackfriars Restaurant is housed in a restored friary building which now has Scheduled Ancient Monument status, which means it is protected by law for being a structure of national importance.
It is one of the oldest buildings in Newcastle.
Andy discovered the advert had appeared when he arrived at the restaurant on Monday afternoon.
"It must have appeared there at some point during the day. No one saw it happen. They must have come and done it when no one was looking," he explained.
It is unclear how the advert was created, but it has been suggested a stencil has been used with some kind of pressure washer to lighten parts of the stone.
"The building is a 13th century friary so there's a reasonable chance that stone was laid there in 1239 and could have been there for 700 years," said Andy.
"It's all part of the building and the building is a Grade I listed building. It's one of the five oldest buildings in Newcastle."
A picture of the advert was posted on Blackfriars' Facebook page prompting a stream of angry comments.
Hayley McLoughlin wrote: "It’s disgusting. I don’t care that it’s supposedly done with a pressure washer and not chemicals and that it can be 'blasted off easily'.
"The point is, they don’t have permission to put it there and it has defaced a historical area of the city and someone’s business for a bit of free advertising.
"If they did it to the front of your house or business you’d not be happy."
And Steve Paul Myers wrote: "Absolutely disgraceful."
The Blackfriars building belongs to Newcastle City Council and is leased by the restaurant.
ChronicleLive has contacted I Saw It First.
