A CALL is being made for a "tasteless and insulting" advertisement, which places odds on a disabled and elderly person crossing a road, to be removed.

The billboards are on display in several locations in Rossendale and Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Councillor George Lee has called on Irish On Line bookmaker Paddy Power to ditch its adverts.

The ad shows two pensioners, one of whom is disabled, using a zebra crossing with a car approaching and identifies the odds on who will cross the road first. Coun Lee has called for the adverts to be withdrawn immediately. He said: "I am sure the bookmakers concerned think that they are being amusing, however there is no doubt in my mind that it is tasteless, insulting and disrespectful to elderly people.

"In a society where the elderly are increasingly targeted by violent yobs it is wrong that advertisers should use images such as this to promote their products.

"It promotes a cheapening of human life in general and a devaluing of our elderly."

Coun Lee has written to the company asking for the adverts to be withdrawn and will be writing to the Advertising Standards Authority if the company does not act.

He added: "I can see the humour in some of the company's other advertising. However, there should be a standard of respect beyond which companies should not go."

Operations director for the Dublin-based bookmakers, Paddy Power, said: "We have had complaints from a pensioners group in Bristol where there was a furore about it.

"I apologise for any one who has been insulted by it, the point of our adverts has been missed. It was to look at everyday situations through a betting man's eyes.

"That was the first advert in our campaign. Some people thought we were having a go at the elderly but we were not trying to alienate them, many of our Irish customers are elderly.

"As a company we were just trying to promote ourselves as a little bit different from the run-of-the-mill bookie. We are not out for shock tactics."

He said if the company was asked by the ASA to pull the advert they would comply.

A spokeswoman from the ASA said: "We are looking into complaints about this advert but no decision has been made."