COUNCIL officials have apologised after a church poster advertising the Women’s World Day of Prayer was banned on religious grounds.

Library staff in Sunderland re­fused to pin the flyer on a notice­­board, and said that it breached local-authority guidelines and might cause offence to people of other faiths.

This week, Sunderland City Council overturned the ban and promised to review its guidelines, after representations from adherents of other faiths. Adbur Rouf, of Sunderland Mosque, said that it was difficult for him to understand how anyone could find the poster offen­sive. “Different religions in the city are now living together, side by side, and have respect for each other’s faiths.”

Manjit Chema, founder and chairman of the Sunderland Sikh Association, said: “This sort of thing creates divides and ghettos of differ­ent communities. I would not have found that poster offensive.”

Speaking for Sunderland Council, Ron Odunaiya, executive director of City Services, said: “We fully accept that the poster would not have caused any concern to other in­dividuals. . . We apologise for any upset that this decision may have caused the customer, and we will be reviewing our guidelines.”