A CONTROVERSIAL sign for a lap-dancing club has been taken down at the request of the council.

The sign for Diamonds, in Bank Street, that showed a blonde woman in a low-cut black corset, was removed this week.

When it was first erected in 2015 the sign sparked negative comments, with Cllr John Walsh calling it an ‘embarrassment’.

It is located on one of the principal routes out of Bolton and Cllr Walsh said that it did ‘nothing at all’ for the town’s image.

Bolton Council said that Diamonds agreed to remove the sign following complaints.

Manager at Diamonds, Sean Doyle, said that the council asked them to take it down due to new sexual entertainment licensing laws, which mean it can only have text on the poster.

He said: “We’ve taken it down under new sexual entertainment licensing laws.

“The law means that we can’t use pictures, it just has to be text, which is what we’re doing.

“The council asked us to take it down. We’re working on a new one that we will put up with the approval of the council.”

Cllr Walsh has welcomed the removal of the sign, but called for something to be done about Bank Street as a whole.

He said: “I think if it is changing, it has to be an improvement on what was there before.

“That street is not the most encouraging entrance to Bolton in general. It needs more re-development but the sign didn’t add to it.

“We need a proper job doing on that street. We’ve been promised it for 15 years. We need an improvement.”

Last month Mr Doyle called on the council to sort out the street for the good of his business and the town after it was called a ‘grot spot’.

A spokesman for Bolton Council said: “Further to complaints regarding the sign outside the premises, officers visited the establishment and Diamonds agreed to remove the sign.”