A confused resident who wanted to check on garden bin collections sent the council a middle finger emoji instead of a thumbs up in a hilarious Twitter conversation.
The exchange between North Tyneside Council and Brenda M Boyd on Friday has been shared thousands of times and gone viral.
Ms Boyd started the conservation by asking the council if garden bin collections were back to normal, to which the council responded: "Yes Brenda. It is."
But instead of sending a thumbs up emoji in response, Ms Boyd sent a middle finger emoji.
Shocked, but thinking it might have been a mistake, the council wrote back: "Just checking Brenda... Is that the emoji you wanted to send?"
Ms Boyd replied: "It was meant to be a thumbs up, but I may have the wrong glasses on - sorry if it was offensive."
A few minutes later, realising what she had sent, she added: "Oh my goodness I've just had another proper look - really sorry."
Luckily, North Tyneside Council saw the funny side and, with a heart emoji, wrote back: "Seriously Brenda don't worry about it. You've brought tears to my eyes. After a weird couple of weeks, it's good to laugh."
The sweet exchange has since been shared thousands of times and social media users were quick to thank the pair for giving people a "good laugh" during the coronavirus lockdown.
One said: "I love you Brenda! Thank you for the giggles."
Another added: "I love this - thank you Brenda for giving us a good laugh."
