WICKED CAMPERVAN: The rental campervan with the message, which has spurred a Lyttelton resident to complain to the Wicked Campers rental company.

An international campervan company is again courting controversy after an unwelcoming message was spotted on the back of one of its vans in Christchurch.

The offending Wicked Campers van was spotted in Lyttelton recently by sailing instructor Dudley Jackson.

The message "Go F*** Yourself" was painted on the back of the van, underneath the company's phone number and website address.

Jackson said he emailed the company to ask whether they thought it was a "suitable" message to be presented to the public, but he had not had a response.

Wicked Campers has failed to respond to numerous requests for comment by The Press since January 23.

The company was founded by mechanic John Webb in Brisbane and has been the subject of multiple complaints in Australia and New Zealand over its controversial slogans and graffiti-style artwork, which were often sexual in nature.

In April last year, Queenstown police began an investigation into a sexually suggestive picture on a Wicked van featuring Gangnam Style singer Psy next to an offensive message.

The company defended the picture and writing on the campervan, saying it depicted people who were "just dancing". Police decided the artwork was not offensive enough to warrant further action.

In 2011, a message similar to the one seen in Lyttelton was removed from a Wicked Campers van after a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Complaints were also made against the company in Hamilton in 2010 after another offensive slogan appeared on the back of a van.

The ASA unanimously ruled the advert was likely to cause serious and widespread offence.