A BOLTON priest has condemned a giant Nintendo poster urging children to "Go To Hell" which has been pasted up outside a primary school.

Father John McNamara, Roman Catholic parish priest and chairman of governors at St Peter and Paul School, said the poster had "gone over the top."

He said: "I have a sense of humour but we are a Catholic school and try to bring our children up in the faith.

"Yet they are seeing a big poster which says Go to Hell."

Cllr Norman Critchley, leader of the Conservative Group on Bolton Coucil, has also condemned the "tasteless" poster. He said he hoped people would speak out and tell those responsible that they did not want that type of selling in Bolton. The poster advertises Nintendo's £60 game, Doom, which is designed for youngsters. Similar posters have caused controversy in other areas of Britain. The poster also uses a "pun" on "the second coming."

Father McNamara pointed out that the second coming was part of the Catholic faith.

The poster has appeared on 700 sites across Britain and has also caused a storm of controversy with the Church of England and Tory MPs.

Seventh Day Adventists in Radcliffe have added their protests. Spokesman Mr Stan Hensman said: "Hell is the last place to which Jesus wants to consign people."

Father McNamara said he felt he had to speak out because the poster had been placed so close to the school and St Peter and Paul Church, in Pilkington Street, Bolton.

"I am not speaking as a spokesman for the Catholic church but I am speaking as a priest and because it is so close to the school," he said. Ocean Software, who designed the poster, have defended their campaign, but admitted they had sparked some controversy. 'Hell is the last place to which Jesus wants to consign people'

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