A Leeds man has been given a warning by police over a disturbing sticker on the tailboard of his truck appearing to show a woman bound and with a hood over her head.

The vehicle owner drove around Leeds with a sticker that depicts a woman tied-up and lying down in the back of his truck.

A picture of the sticker circulated on social media, prompting outage and calls for it to be banned.

James Hellewell, who describes himself as a personal trainer on social media, confirmed he is the owner of the truck on Twitter and tweeted about the sticker using the hashtag #rapetruck.

A shocked mother spotted the sticker while out in the city with her three-year-old child and reported it to police.

After receiving a string of complaints from "alarmed" members of the public about the sticker, West Yorkshire Police tracked down Mr Hellwell and warned him he could be charged with a public order offence if he continued to display the image on his vehicle.

On Twitter, he wrote: “I’ve taken advice from chief superintendent south West Yorkshire police and have removed this sticker from my vehicle”.

Mr Hellewell stressed the sticker was “truly a joke” and apologised for any offence caused.

He dismissed anger over the term “rape” and claimed the image was a picture of his mother, which he said meant it was “hardly rape”.

"It's boring now, it's removed and I've apologised, get a grip,” he added.

Total Fitness, the gym Mr Hellewell appeared to work at, said it condemns " all forms of violence and intimidation towards women" and that it has terminated "all association" with him.

Chief Inspector Steve Palmer, Leeds City Centre Commander, said police were contacted by a concerned caller raising concerns about a photographic image they had seen on the back of a pick-up truck in Leeds city centre.

He said: “These concerns were also raised on social media which prompted a number of similar complaints to West Yorkshire Police. It was clear that a number of people had found the image offensive and had been alarmed and distressed by it being displayed in public.