"Sick" messages which were displayed on the interactive big screen at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium during England's fourth Test defeat against India have drawn condemnation.

A series of vulgar messages purporting to be from Madeline McCann, Adam Johnson, Elisabeth Fritzl and others were shown to crowds inside the stadium during Saturday's play and were later shared widely on social media.

Other messages mocked Stevie Wonder's blindness and parodied the anti-immigration stance of Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader.

Spectators have been invited to text in messages of support throughout the series, won by India after they went 3-0 up with one Test remaining, and most featured tasteful words of encouragement.

However, others took advantage of some seemingly lax moderation. The message referencing the missing McCann read: "So grateful for my parents to bring me to the Cricket! Great day so far - Madeleine McCann".

Paul Burnham, spokesman for unofficial England supporters' group 'The Barmy Army', condemned the messages as "sick" and described their content as a "no-go area".

The message purporting to be sent by missing child Madeleine McCann (Twitter)

He told the BBC: "It's a very sick thing to do. We're 99 per cent certain that it is not anybody connected with us. If it was, we would not react well to that in terms of their membership.

"I completely condemn the messages. People shouldn't be allowed to do things like that and get away with them."



Former England international Johnson was jailed earlier this year for sexual activity with a teenager, while McCann disappeared while on holiday in Portugal in 2007 aged three.

Fritzl was kept captive by her father Josef in Austria for 24 years.