A Daily Mail report says a spokeswoman for the local council said it was painted on the field without proper planning permission and legal action would be taken if it is not removed.

The advertising agency SMG is refusing to get rid of it, claiming it can be seen only from the air and so is not subject to council planning regulations.

Steven Johnson, commercial director of SMG subsidiary Flightpath Media said: they wereoperating quite within their rights and the advertising was only visible to aircraft"  

He said SMG was intending to produce similar ads on fields beneath flight paths out of Manchester, Leeds and Stansted airports.

But Paul Mine of the Campaign to Protect Rural England said: "It sets such a nasty precedent, using our landscapes just for advertisement."