A ‘TO LET’ sign advertising for a Pakistani family only has shocked a community.

Both police and Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson received a dozen complaints from residents after the sign appeared in a window at a house in Nelson.

The handwritten advert posted in the window of a property in Railway Street read ‘For Rent, 3 Bedrooms, Just Pakistani Family’ with an attached mobile number.

Police officers tracked down the landlord following complaints about the ‘distasteful’ sign and it was removed.

Mr Stephenson condemned the sign as ‘deeply offensive’.

He said: “Many people were offended by the sign, and I shared their concerns.

“I was contacted not just by families who felt the sign was aimed at them, but by eastern European people who felt the same.

“I contacted the council and the police with my concerns about the sign.

“It would be wrong if it said ‘whites only’, or ‘eastern Europeans only’. It is discrimination from a bygone era.

“We should have moved on from the days where you would see ‘no dogs, no Irish’ posted on rented properties.

“I’m perfectly happy that the police have spoken to the landlord and told him to take it down.

“People were shocked and I’m pleased swift action was taken.”

Inspector Paul Goodall, of Pendle Police, said: “The landlord hasn’t committed any offences, and when we went round and asked him to take it down, he said ‘fair enough’ and took it down.

“We spoke to him and gave him some advice, and were satisfied it was not intended with any sort of malice.

“It was, in his opinion, to have some nice residents in the area..

“But the reality of the situation is, it might be deemed to be distasteful or inappropriate, which it is my opinion.

“There was no criminal act committed, and we would have dealt with it seriously if there was.”

Ward Coun Nadeem Ahmed said as a private property owner, he would never chose tenants on their religion or ethnicity.

He said: “It’s totally wrong, and I’m glad the police have got him to take it down.

“They probably realised they shouldn’t have put it up when the officers went over.

“We try to live together and do the right thing, and make a world for our children where everyone can live together happily, and these kind of things are divisive.”

The landlord was unavailable for comment.