A mural of Winston Churchill wearing stockings and suspenders and giving the ‘V’ sign has attracted complaints from locals who claim the hand gesture is ‘offensive’

A mural of Winston Churchill wearing stockings and suspenders and giving the ‘V’ sign has attracted complaints from locals who claim the hand gesture is ‘offensive’.

The mural of the wartime leader wearing lingerie was painted on a side wall of the Sandpiper guest house in Brighton by an illusive local artist who goes by the name Horace. 

Guest house owner Mr Phillips – who only provided his last name – received a call from Brighton and Hove City Council who told him they had received complaints about the mural. 

Mr Phillips – who was given three days to alter the image – called Horace as he feared local authorities would ‘ruin the painting’.

But the council made a u-turn at the eleventh hour, claiming the ‘decision had been overturned’, and the mural would not need to be changed because the gesture was ‘historically authentic’. 

Churchill gave the iconic ‘V for victory’ salute during World War Two. 

Horace, once-dubbed Worthing’s answer to Banksy, was the artist behind the mural.

The painting called Churchill rainbow was created as part of a series featuring well-known Brightonians and those with links to the city.

Winston Churchill went to school in Hove and, as the artist couldn’t find a picture with legs, stockings and suspenders were added to the mural instead.

A spokesman for the council said it had only received one complaint and mural would not need to be changed as the gesture was ‘historically authentic’. 

Horace was amazed that the mural only garnered criticism for the V sign – and not the ladies’ underwear.

He said: ‘I was surprised when Mr Phillips contacted me, I thought the image might be controversial, but because of the stockings, not the V-sign.

‘It never crossed my mind that people would be offended by that as that’s what he was doing.As a result, I haven’t changed it.’