Pub removes "temporary" sign after social media backlash

The "temporary" sign has been removed from The Crabshell Inn in Kingsbridge after the image chosen confused local people, leading to a lively discussion on Facebook. 

The sign appeared at the weekend, while the pub itself is closed for refurbishment, but the image wasn't of Kingsbridge or the ria that the pub sits alongside. Instead it was of Salcombe from the East Portlemouth side.

The sign -  credit Anthea Marshall 

The sign was posted to a couple of local Facebook pages and people were not impressed. 

Max Allen posted the picture with the comment: "Spot the deliberate mistake?" where it attracted more than 100 reactions and 90 comments. 

A couple of people called it an "insult to locals", and questioned whether the Kingsbridge Estuary wasn't "appealing enough" for the sign, while another accused the pub of trying to "cash in" on the perceived prestige of Salcombe.

One person joked that they "got charged double for the sign" since it has Salcombe on it.

It was suggested that this was a sign that might have been intended for The Victoria in Salcombe, which is also under renovation and also owned by St Austell Brewery, but this has not been confirmed. 

Other social media posts on their own page were plagued with people asking if they'd changed the sign yet. 

St Austell Brewery responded to our questions about the sign, saying: "We can confirm there’s a new permanent sign of Kingsbridge on the way - this was just a temporary one which has now been removed. We had hoped to have the new one up for the weekend, but our sign writer has been unwell.

"The new one will be up as soon as possible. Watch this space…"

The sign has now been removed from the display bracket, so we will wait and see what appears!

Our lovely member Norsworthy Photography has some beautiful shots of the ria so maybe they should give him a call? 

The Crabshell reopens today.