Angry Lithuanian monks stop 'insulting' beer ad

Monks and nuns in the largely Catholic Baltic state of Lithuania forced a brewery on Wednesday to withdraw an "insulting" poster campaign featuring a Franciscan brother holding up a brimming glass of beer.

The outdoor billboard was to promote a beer produced by the country's biggest brewer, Svyturys-Utenos alus, which is majority owned by Danish brewing giant Carlsberg.

But Lithuania's conference of monks and nuns said in a statement they felt "insulted and trampled upon" by the advertisement and had written to the brewer to protest.

The brewery apologised and said it would stop the advertisement immediately. It said it had used the monk's image to highlight links to a historical legacy of mediaeval monks producing beer.