FURTHER controversy has erupted after it emerged an image of a British beach used in a Canadian tourist campaign was taken seven years ago.

Officials in Alberta were criticised last week for using an image of a boy and girl running along a Northumberland beach to promote their area.

It has now emerged the youngsters in the photograph are a brother and sister from South Shields who've never even been to Canada.

One of them told how she was shocked when she found out she'd been featured in the tourism campaign.

Holly Preston, 15, posed with her brother on the beach Beadnell,Northumberland, seven years ago for library pictures for a local photographer.

The St Wilfrid's RC college pupil said: "When I first saw the advert in the news I was stunned. The photo was taken about seven years ago when I was just eight.'

"I couldn't believe they were using a photograph of me and my brother on a beach in Northumberland to promote a country we've never even been to. It was really strange.

"It's really surprised me how much controversy its caused over in Canada."

Mum Jan, South Shields, added: "I'd heard about the controversy but I hadn't seen the photograph.

"It was my friend who rang up and said it was Holly in the picture. The photo has appeared in all sorts of publications in the past, but never as part of a multi-million pound tourism campaign like this."

Sheelagh Caygill, from Northumberland Tourism, said there's been a surge in the number of visitors to their website since the story broke.

She said: "The story has generated a lot of interest in tourism in Northumberland so we welcome that."

The Alberta government apologised for the mix-up on Thursday.

A spokesman said: "We all knew that every single image we put out to represent Alberta had to be of Alberta, or we would be roasted. Then we screwed up, we're sorry."

Alberta's legislative assembly opposition leader Brian Mason said: "How hard would it have been for them to go out for a drive and found a beautiful place in Alberta and some lovely children that they could have used?"

The photo controversy came to light when a man e-mailed the province to find out where the beach was located.

His story was then featured in a column in the Edmonton Journal, the main newspaper in Alberta.