London Dungeon apologises for 'upsetting' tweets

The London Dungeon tourist attraction has apologised for a promotional Twitter campaign that backfired.

A graphic joking about a murdered sex worker, and another about infecting a partner with a sexually transmitted disease were posted on the attraction's Twitter feed.

Critics said the collection of images was sexist and offensive.

Merlin Entertainment said it was "very sorry" for the campaign and has deleted the tweets.

The group said it had wanted to run a "dark Valentine campaign" to promote the London Dungeon, in which visitors are taken on a tour through London's dark history.

But many Twitter users complained that many of the images tweeted were in poor taste and inappropriate for a family tourist attraction.

Rebecca Reid, a columnist for the Telegraph, said: "The biggest issue here is taking violence against women and turning it into a joke or a cheap marketing ploy."

She told the BBC: "Just because these rapes and murders happened in the past doesn't mean they are fair game.

"Violence, rape and murder are all still a very brutal reality of life for modern day sex workers and these flippant tweets show no awareness or respect for that."

Merlin Entertainment said: "Our brand tone of voice tends to divide audiences. However, we recognise that we've upset some people and for that we're very sorry."