A CAFE owner is "furious" after he claimed councillors came into his shop demanding he remove a pet euthanasia sign because it was causing offence. 

Rob Robinson, who runs Brew Bear Cafe in Evesham, said councillors said his 'At home euthanasia' sign was offensive and needed to be removed immediately.

Mr Robinson also owns Evesham Vets - which the sign references - and said he followed all the correct procedures for getting his pavement licences.

However, Wychavon District Council said while a licence was granted for street furniture it did not include advertising signs.

Mr Robinson said: "We are a small business, and all small businesses find it hard to survive, and we get some do not follow the rules but we followed procedure and the council had their chance to object, but they didn't.

"I was furious because I thought, is this what taxpayers money should go towards?

"The people of Evesham are lovely and those who need to use our vet services appreciate us.

"When most animals go over the rainbow bridge this method is used and in Britain people treat their pets like their children.

"This business was to help pet owners and vets.

"It is mindboggling why there was any complaint and why the council ran in here."

Evesham Town Council received a complaint about the sign and forwarded this to Wychavon Council which deals with pavement licences. 

Jo Adams, Evesham Town Council clerk, said: "The council was contacted by a member of the public concerning the advertising hoardings which form part of the cafe's outside seating area, where an advert for pet euthanasia sat alongside an advert for cakes.

"As the town council is not directly involved in licensing or planning matters and would need to signpost the complaint to another agency, a Wychavon District Council councillor was contacted who agreed to go and look at the signs themselves.

"The town council itself had no opinion on the signs as, at the time, no one had seen them.

"We are very sorry that the cafe owner was upset by this process."

Ian MacLeod, director of planning and Infrastructure for Wychavon District Council, confirmed a pavement licence was granted for street furniture.

"However, pavement licences in Wychavon do not cover the use of barriers or screens for advertising purposes. This may potentially require additional advertising consent.

“We can also confirm a complaint has been made to our planning enforcement team about the use of the barriers as signage and we are currently investigating to see if there has been any breach of planning regulations and our officer will be in touch with the business to discuss the situation, if necessary."

He added they cannot comment on the actions of other organisations or individuals but complaints should be made directly to the council.