The owners of a Stanley hotel say they "do not condone" the comments made by a restaurateur who described the town as 'Afghanistanley'.
Tina Tita, who runs Osteria Antonio in Hotel 52, referred to the town in 'Afghanistanley' on Facebook post but the remarks sparked a massive backlash on social media with residents saying they'd no longer eat at the establishment.
Now the hotel's owners, The One Collection Group, have said they "do not condone any derogatory comments used by the management of Osteria Antonio".
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A spokesman said: "We are aware of recent comments made on social media by the management team at Osteria Antonio and will be discussing this with the current management immediately.
"As owners of the venue, we would like to take this opportunity to state we do not condone any derogatory comments used by the management of Osteria Antonio, and would also like to reiterate that these do not represent those of Hotel 52 and The One Collection Group.
"We have been a part of Stanley since launching Hotel 52 in 2018 and would like to express our thanks for the continued support from a very welcoming community.
"Further updates will be communicated in the near future, should we feel these are of interest to the public."
Writing on Facebook, Tina said: "We're testing the market as we might move in Consett or Newcastle, Afghanistanley is a little rough for our standards we try to offer.
"But even if it does happen it won't be soon (I wish) so we'll still be here for the nice weather to open the beer garden and do barbecues outside."
One person said: "I'm from Stanley and live a little journey away now, how disrespectful to the whole of Stanley.
"This little town does have its issues but no more than many other towns. We're all proud to have lived or to live in Stanley where we know or knew our neighbour."
Another said: "Bye bye customers I certainly won't be bothering as I'm a born and bred Afghanistanley resident!!!"
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