A WORCESTER headteacher is campaigning to remove a controversial advertising hoarding close to his school gates.

Dr Graham Watts says the Pot Noodle advert - by the Bilford Road railway bridge and Lidl Supermarket, near Elgar Technology College - is offensive and sends out the wrong message to students.

The poster, with the slogan "hurt me you slag", is a stone's throw from the school.

"Here we're desperately trying to invest a great deal of time in raising standards," said Dr Watts. "Posters like this are doing nothing to help that.

"We're trying to encourage our schoolchildren to speak nicely and there's that advert as they walk to school.

"The majority of them walk past that every day. I'm really upset about it. I just want the issue resolved."

Dr Watts has sent a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority.

It has received 129 complaints about the campaign, which is also featured on television after the 9pm watershed.

"I think quite a few people have been offended by it," said an ASA spokeswoman.

Pot Noodle, owned by Unilever Bestfoods UK, said the campaign was meant to be humorous.

"We wanted our new Pot Noodle advertising to be risqu in a humorous way, but not to be offensive," said a Pot Noodle spokesman.

"We showed the posters to a group of mothers of teenagers, as well as 16 to 30-year-old men and women, and most appreciated the humour.

"A small number found them irritating but not offensive. All our adverts go through various approval processes."