Skegness's Jolly Fisherman redrawn by New European
- Published
The magazine cover is not helpful to the "leading holiday resort", says the town's mayor
The mayor of Skegness has said he is angry that the seaside town's famous mascot has been used for what he describes as "political purposes".
The Jolly Fisherman has been redrawn with the words "go away" on his chest on the cover of the Remain-supporting New European magazine.
The area voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union in 2016, but Dick Edginton said it was time to move on.
The magazine's editor said the cover was merely "satire".
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The magazine cover mocks the original Jolly Fisherman poster, from 1908, which featured the character on the beach with the words "Skegness is so bracing".
In the amended version the beach and water are shown as dirty and covered in litter.
'Swivel-eyed lunatics'
Mr Edginton said people had always poked fun at the Jolly Fisherman but this went too far.
"Where people feel aggrieved is that the Jolly Fisherman is often being used in a context totally unrelated to its origins and purpose.
"To imply the beach is dirty and litter strewn and so forth is not helpful in what we are trying to achieve as a leading holiday resort."
The original poster featuring the Jolly Fisherman was designed to advertise the town's charms
He said he accepted it was intended to be a "satirical jibe" but said the magazine should "man up, get over the result and move on".
Matt Warman, the Conservative MP for Boston and Skegness, voted to remain in the EU but said the article implied leave voters were all "swivel-eyed lunatics" and did nothing to move the country forward.
The magazine appeared to be aware that the cover would prompt controversy, as it acknowledged in an email sent out with a copy of the front page ahead of publication.
The email suggested the cover and article were "unlikely to go down well".
The editor, Matt Kelly, has responded to some of the criticism on social media, tweeting, external: "Yet again, so many leavers demonstrating inability to understand satire."