A pub was at the centre of a race row after its white landlord 'blacked up' and a black barman dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Queens Head came under fire after landlord Simon Tickner covered himself in brown makeup as part of a 'witch doctor' costume, while a black employee dressed as a racist Klansman - complete with a cross.

Mr Tickner has been forced to apologised for the stunt and claims he had not intended to cause any offence.

Race storm: The Queens Head in Brixton came under fire after pictures emerged which show white landlord Simon Tickner 'blacked up' and a white barman dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan

To complete his Halloween outfit, Tickner wore a tinfoil hat and 'tribal' necklaces, for the fancy dress party thrown last weekend.

The other man, who is as yet unnamed, was even seen to be throwing an apparent Hitler salute, in pictures which were posted on the Brixton pub's Facebook page.

PR worker Nisha Damji complained when she saw the shocking images, and was sent back an offensive Facebook message from somebody using the pub's account.

The message read: “Yo b***h. Ask my black clientele what they think and suck my d***.”

Londoner Nisha said: 'To be called a b***h and to be threatened with sexual violence was utterly appalling.

Defence: The Queen's Head's landlord defended the costumes, saying they were an 'absurdist joke'

'As well as the deeply offensive costumes and blackface, one of them gave the Nazi salute. It's not cool or edgy - It's is totally unacceptable in 2014.'

Nisha added: 'Just because the Klansman was black, doesn't make it okay, and it definitely doesn't justify the Nazi salute.

'Brixton has a history of racial tension, and this is the sort of offensive situation can spiral out of control.'

Jabeer Butt, deputy chief executive of the Race Equality Foundation, said: 'It's shocking.

'The people saying 'a black person dressing up makes it okay' are wrong too.'

Tickner, 45, has since apologised for the shocking costumes and behaviour.

He said: 'I think it was an absurdist joke, basically.

'My black barman dressed as a Klansman. It's an absurdist joke. Anybody who was offended I would like to apologise to.

'I literally have no cause to offend the black community. I've possibly got the most multi-racial pub in Brixton.'

He denied posting the sexually offensive Facebook comment.