Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Aberdeen chip shop ordered to remove deep-fried Mars bar poster for 'the good of the community'

The treat contains about 1,200 calories

Alexandra Sims
Monday 20 July 2015 10:05 BST
Comments
The shop proudly displays a banner saying “Birthplace of the world famous deep fired mars bar” on the front of its premises
The shop proudly displays a banner saying “Birthplace of the world famous deep fired mars bar” on the front of its premises (The Carron Fish Shop/ Facebook )

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A fish and chip shop claiming to be the “birthplace” of the deep-fried Mars bar has been ordered to remove a banner saying it invented the snack.

Aberdeenshire City Council has ordered The Carron Fish Bar in Stonehaven to remove the sign “for the good of the community”.

The fish bar, which displays a banner saying “Birthplace of the world famous deep fired mars bar” on the front of its premises, draws tourists from around the world who want to try the now infamous recipe.

The Aberdeenshire fish bar claims to have invented the snack
The Aberdeenshire fish bar claims to have invented the snack (The Carron Fish Bar/ Facebook)

Lorraine Watson, owner of The Carron Fish Bar, said that she had received a letter from Aberdeenshire council “asking me to remove the banner from the front of the shop” and accused the council of “picking” on local chip shops.

“Are they joking,” she said, “we bring thousands of visitors to the town that have their picture taken underneath this banner.”

We at the Carron Fish Bar have also had a letter from Aberdeenshire Council, they are asking me to remove the Banner on...

Posted by Carron Fish Bar on Saturday, 18 July 2015

Aberdeenshire Council issued Watson with the ban as part of a community “action plan” to improve the town centre.

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council told the BBC: “Together with a range of community organisations we have been looking at ways to improve the look of Stonehaven for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors.”

“As part of the action plan we have asked some owners in the area to consider making alterations to their properties. This included asking the owners of The Carron Fish Bar to consider removing their banner.”

Since the council’s announcement locals have defended the shop on its Facebook page saying that the order is “ridiculous”.One commenter said: “You guys bring thousands of visitors to the town. Other things in my opinion make the town look untidy like the state of the woods and the mess on the boardwalk.”

Others said: “Shocking, council needs a shake-up , maybe should concentrate on the mess on the beach with fly ridden seaweed” and “Ridiculous, what next will the council think of to keep visitors away”.

A deep-fried Mars bar from The Carron Fish Bar
A deep-fried Mars bar from The Carron Fish Bar (The Carron Fish Bar/ Facebook)

The chip shop first “invented” the battered sweet, which contains about 1,200 calories, in 1992 when a school boy asked to have his favourite chocolate bar drenched in batter, according to the Scotsman.

Since then the snack has become internationally renowned and Watson sells between 100 and 150 of the high fat treats every week.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in