Council puts up banners celebrating fast food dish in town hit by obesity crisis
BANNERS celebrating a fatty fast food dish have been put up by a council in a town hit by an obesity crisis.
Parmo and chips is a 2,600-calorie deep-fried dish popular in Middlesbrough — where almost a quarter of Year 6 pupils are classed as obese.
But the local authority has spent £13,000 on signs promoting the town including one that reads: “We are parmo and chips.”
Officials have come in for fierce criticism over the signs about parmo — a deep-fried breadcrumbed pork or chicken parcel coated in cheesy sauce.
Matt Storey, leader of the opposition Labour group, said: “These banners are insulting and reduce Middlesbrough to cheap stereotypes.
“There is far more to Middlesbrough than parmos and clichés.”
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And Antony High, leader of the Middlesbrough Independent Group, said: “They are very belittling and poor for the town.”
Mayor Andy Preston admitted some would be removed. He said: “Two or three are ill-conceived and need taking down.
“I’ve already asked for them to be removed.”