An advert proclaiming ‘Hello Ashstead’ has been quickly taken down and a public apology issued.

TSB bank apologised for misspelling the village's name on the billboard at Ashtead train station, a gaffe which provoked annoyance and amusement among commuters.

The bank yesterday posted a correctly spelt apology saying ‘Sorry Ashtead’ on social networking site Twitter.

Your Local Guardian:

The billboard at Ashtead station. Photo: Simeon Carter

By the evening the misspelt advert at the station was replaced by a Heineken ad.

Simeon Carter, 16, said he first saw the sign on his way to school at about 8am and then went down to see the replacement just after 7.30pm.

He said: "When I noticed it on the way to school it took me a while to see the mistake; then I noticed it was right next to the station sign and I just thought it was brilliant.

"I couldn’t resist getting a photo. Ashtead is often misspelt but never on that scale.

"But what surprised me the most was TSB’s Twitter apology and quick removal of the advert; I’m glad the misspelling is gone."

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The apology posted on Twitter

A TSB spokeswoman said the misspelling was as a result of 'human error'.

She said: "It's a ridiculous mistake but we did have a lot of billboards going up. We outsourced it to a company and they have said sorry to us."

In a statement the company said: "We apologise to the local residents for the poster spelt incorrectly at Ashtead train station. We have now replaced the poster."

The national ad campaign to mark the launch of TSB bank uses the slogan "welcome back to local banking".

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The replacement advert at about 7.30pm. Photo: Simeon Carter