Owners of a hotel have stopped a restaurant manager posting on the venue's social media page after residents took offence over comments she made about a town.

Tina Ion, who runs Osteria Antonio at Hotel 52, in Stanley, found herself in the middle of social media furore over the weekend after she described the town as ‘rough’.

Her reference to ‘Afghanistanley’, which she claims was intended as a joke, did not go down well with locals, with some saying the authentic Italian eatery should be boycotted.

Read more: Stanley's Osteria Antonio owner responds after Afghanistanley row

Now The One Collection Group, which owns the building, has moved to distance itself from Ms Ion’s comments on Facebook and restricted access to company’s Facebook page.

A spokesperson for the Chester-le-Street company said: “We are aware of recent comments made on social media by the management team at Osteria Antonio and will be discussing this with the current management immediately.

“As owners of the venue, we would like to take this opportunity to state we do not condone any derogatory comments used by the management of Osteria Antonio, and would also like to reiterate that these do not represent those of Hotel 52 and The One Collection Group.

“We have been a part of Stanley since launching Hotel 52 in 2018 and would like to express our thanks for the continued support from a very welcoming community.

“Further updates will be communicated in the near future, should we feel these are of interest to the public.”

Ms Ion, who is from Romania, runs the venture with her partner, Antonio Grandieri, who does the cooking.

The pair, who are both 46, and live in Newcastle, moved from Italy to the UK in 2018.

She said she made the ‘Afghanistanley’ post after customers used the term at the venue on Friday and she found it funny.

Ms Ion told the Northern Echo the couple have not found it easy to settle in the former mining town since opening in September and said her restaurant had been plagued by fake bad reviews.

She said she did not want to offend residents but was defiant about the uproar her comments sparked on Saturday.

Read next:

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here

She said: “I do not want to appear as a victim and I do not want to go back on my statements, but this shows how vulnerable businesses can be and how they are at the mercy of the public who are not necessarily customers.

“I did try to explain that I am not referring Stanley town in general.

“Most of people in Stanley are nice people. I thought that was something I would not even have to explain.

"Of course, I would not bash my own customers.”