The mayor of Greater Manchester has condemned an “unacceptable” banner adorned with hanging effigies that blames the Conservatives for 130,000 deaths.

As delegates arrived for the annual Tory conference in Manchester, protesters put up a banner from a bridge in Salford that read: “130,000 killed under Tory rule, time to level the playing field”.

Andy Burnham, a former Labour cabinet minister and now mayor of Manchester, said the sign was “completely unacceptable”.

Tory councillor Kerry Boyd spotted the offensive sign in Peel Park, on the river Irwell, as she went for a pre-conference run.

Ms Boyd, a councillor on Thanet District Council in Kent, said: “Never have I felt more apprehensive than seeing this in my morning run pre CPC19.

“Does this classify as death/terrorist threat? Utterly vile.”

The banner has now been removed by Salford Council and police are investigating the incident.

Health secretary Matt Hancock described the banner as “totally outrageous”.

The banner incident comes after delegates were greeted with a similar sign saying “Hang the Tories” when the conference was held in the northern city in 2017.

At the time, Conservative MP Michael Fabricant shared an image of the sign, which was also draped over a bridge and featured a hanging effigy.