Skegness slur Lotto ad woman offered tour by mayor

Gina Parkin said she only made the comment as a joke

A woman featured in a TV advert saying she would holiday "anywhere but Skegness" has been offered a tour of the resort by the town's mayor.

In the advert for Lotto, a number of people suggest destinations where they would take their families if they won a large sum of money.

Gina Parkin, from Leeds, appears at the end and says "anywhere but Skegness".

She has now apologised for the off-the-cuff comment, saying she "hadn't meant to upset anybody".

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Ms Parkin said she had previously been to the Lincolnshire resort at night and "there was a little bit too much alcohol for me".

She said she was now looking forward to seeing the resort in daylight and taking in some of the local attractions, accompanied by the town's mayor, Danny Brookes, who she said invited her after the story was featured in the local press.

Ms Parkin, who will visit the resort on Saturday at the mayor's invitation, said her comments were "just meant to be funny".

She said: "They just asked me some questions, and one of them I answered 'anywhere but Skegness'."

About four million people visit the resort every year

Skegness was previously labelled "tacky" in an edition of the Lonely Planet travel guide.

The guide described the resort as "the ABC of the English seaside - amusements, bingo and candy-floss, and added that "culture vultures will probably run a mile".

Tourism bosses in Skegness previously came under fire themselves for using unflattering images of Blackpool and Brighton in a bid to promote the resort.

What is Skegness best known for?

• The first Butlin's holiday camp was opened by Billy Butlin in 1936 in Skegness

• The resort is famous for the railway poster depicting a jolly fisherman waving his arms with the caption "Skegness is so bracing"

• An image of the Jolly Fisherman also features on the cover of Bill Bryson's book - The Road to Little Dribbling

• The resort also features in a giant cake made as part of an annual arts festival

• In 2012, there were calls for Skegness to change its name due to its reputation as a low quality resort