A sick ad campaign has been slammed for mocking up murder scenes just yards from the scene where young revellers met their deaths.

The skin care company, Simple, has illegally embarked on a controversial campaign in an attempt to sell their recently launched, male skin care products.

The advertising stunt, which started last Saturday, comprises of white body outlines strewn across the streets of 12 major cities in the UK, including Newcastle where the city council is taking legal advice.

The chalk drawings resemble an official police murder scene, leading many shoppers to believe a crime had taken place.

Beside the outline of the sprawled body is a small outline of a man's disposable razor.

Simple say the ad was supposed to warn men that if they want to avoid being killed by a blunt razor they should visit their nearest chemist and purchase the new Simple skin care range.

But the company came in for criticism when the body outlines appeared in Newcastle close to the spots where two young men were brutally murdered.

One of them, in the city's Bigg Market, is near the place where 18-year-old father Brian Anderson was stabbed to death in 1995.

Another, on Grey Street next to the city's Grey's Monument landmark, is yards away from the spot where club DJ Adam Brown was beaten to death as he withdrew money from a cashpoint.

Adam's father Dennis, of Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, said the campaign had prompted "painful memories" dut declined to comment further.

A spokeswoman for Newcastle City Council said the authority was pursuing Simple over its campaign.

She said: "This is an illegal advertising campaign which the council was not informed about."

There have been three sightings in Newcastle City centre of these body markings, at the Bigg Market, Haymarket and Monument metro stations.

In a statement Simple said: "The 'crime scene' activity for Simple Skin Defence for Men is part of a six month marketing campaign designed to create awareness around the theme of the crimes that men commit to their skin.

"Simple Skin Defence is working with a legitimate media company, using what is becoming an increasingly commonly used advertising medium.

"The agency has been briefed to avoid any sensitive issues within the targeted cities.

"Where there are known sensitivities, activity has not been placed or is being withdrawn.

"As a result of information we have received, immediate action has been taken to withdraw the activity from Newcastle."

All three body outlines have now been 'withdrawn' from the streets of Newcastle after the controversy erupted.