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Welsh Water was forced to delete a Facebook advert which encouraged people to go 'meat-free' to save water after a furious backlash from farmers across Wales on Monday.

The advert, published with the hashtag #watersavingweek, included a picture of a pig being washed in a bucket of water.

It was posted on the Dwr Cymru Welsh Water Facebook page along with the caption: "Nearly one third of agricultural water use is related to animal products.

"Try going meat free for just one day."

The advert was posted at around midday and was deleted around three hours later.

Welsh Water has since issued an apology, and said that the advert - which was a one-off - formed part of a UK-wide campaign run by a separate organisation.

The now-deleted advert:

(Image: Facebook/WelshWater)

Before it was deleted, the post gathered a number of comments from Facebook users who described the advert as 'disgraceful', 'idiotic', 'shocking' and 'ridiculous'.

Commenting on the advert, Sarah Hudgins wrote: "What a ridiculous post. This kind of ill thought out rubbish can have serious consequences."

Another user, Jess Bason said: "Majority of Wales = agricultural land for livestock. What a c**k up you have made with this post Welsh Water."

Chloe Edwards commented: "Really? As the water management company of a nation full of farmers (both livestock and crop) do you think that this is suitable? Eating less meat will not save water!"

While, Tanya Horwood said: "Disgusting Welsh Water - completely inconsiderate of our hard working farmers."

And Dave Pearce wrote: "What if all the farmers on here stop paying you for water? Perhaps then you'll have something to say."

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Some Facebook users also questioned why Welsh Water had not included information about how the other two thirds of agricultural water is used.

Commenting on the post, James George said: "One third of agricultural use of water is related to animals, so two thirds of agricultural use is related to cropping?"

While, Rachel Denlon asked: "Does that mean the other two thirds is used for non-animal products? How about eat more meat and save water?"

And Melissa Challener said: "What percentage is used to water crops?"

In response to the backlash, Welsh Water said: “Each year, the independent organisation, Waterwise, runs Water Saving week, providing tips to people on how to reduce water usage in their everyday lives.

“Water companies and organisations across the UK have been supporting this by sharing content, tips and offering water saving devices on social media this week.

“Today’s theme highlighted the amount of water that can be involved in the production of meat, and suggested going meat free for a day.

“The post that we shared on Facebook received a number of comments – many from people who were unhappy with the post.

“We apologise if we have caused any offence and deleted the post from our social media channel. It is never our intention to cause upset to our customers.”