A "NO sex please" row has hit the cloistered splendour of Fountains Abbey.

It has been sparked by an advertisement from the National Trust extolling the virtues of the internationally-acclaimed ruined treasure near Ripon, which dates back to 1132.

The newspaper advertisement has angered trust member Eric Cropper, who lives at Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, and he is waiting for a reply to his letter to the trust objecting to a headline which proclaimed "Human Sacrifices" and starting its text "No sex."

The advertisement is headed "Human sacrifices. Like celibacy." It then reads: "No sex, no money and total obedience. Life as a Cistercian monk was tough and the vow of silence meant they couldn't even moan about it."

While Mr Cropper accepted that much of the advertisement was informative, he found use of the words "human sacrifices" and "no sex" in the worst possible taste.

He belives they were used by the trust to attract people who might not otherwise be interested in what he describes as a great national treasure.

He accepted the trust wanted to attract more visitors but he did not think it was the right way to go about it.

Mr Cropper, who said he had received backing for his protest, was critical of the trust's public relations style.

Fountains Abbey, dissolved in 1539, is now a World Heritage Site. It adjoins the Studley Royal estate, noted for its outstanding eighteenth century water gardens and landscape created by John Aislabie and son William between 1718 and 1781.

A spokesman for the National Trust at its London headquarters said: "Our advertising is focused on encouraging visItors to explore some of the enormously rich human stories behind our leading properties, including Fountains Abbey.

"By highlighting these stories we wish to embrace and widen audiences - both trust members and all people who are much less familiar with our work. In doing so, it is probably not possible to strike a tone that can appeal to everyone. Many have enjoyed the campaigns, but we obviously regret that some regard the advertisement as inappropriate in any way."