A couple enjoying a romantic meal were shocked when they got the bill - and the waiter appeared to name them ‘w***ers’ on it.

Mike Shawcross paid for the two-course meal but he and his partner couldn’t believe their eyes when he saw they had been referred to as ‘Shaw***ers’ under the guest name.

Mike’s furious partner Victoria Whittle, from Manchester , posted a picture of the receipt on her Twitter account, writing: “That awkward moment when the host forgets that what they called your table is printed on the bill.”

She also posted the receipt onto the hotel’s Facebook page, claiming the hotel had said it was a ‘spelling mistake’.

“Yes, I misspell Shawcross like this all the time,” she wrote, although she later deleted the post.

The Silverton Hotel in Shropshire, where the couple had enjoyed their meal, have apologised for the ‘genuine mistake’.

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One of the owners, Donna Miles, had entered the name into their booking system from a colleague’s scribbled note.

She says she believed the name was a combination of ‘Shaw’ and ‘Ankers’ and hadn’t realised it had produced a swear word.

Donna explained: “When it was brought to my attention how Victoria interpreted the name I was mortified.

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“I explained to her at the time that it was in no way intended how she interpreted it and that I’d genuinely entered it how I read their surname, pronounced ‘Shaw ankers’, at which point I apologised and organised a complimentary cocktail for her.”

She added: “To then discover that Victoria had posted a copy of the receipt online I was furious. For people to think that I had intentionally entered their name incorrectly and as a rude word is simply preposterous and untrue.

"Why would I potentially jeopardise all our hard work by ‘insulting’ the guests?”

She continued: “Whilst Victoria and her partner were with us they were welcome guests and no trouble at all. We’re just disappointed that a genuine mistake has been played out in such a public forum.

"Having said that, the fallout from this has been quite amusing as many of our regulars are now requesting that their receipts are printed with their names spelt incorrectly and rudely!

“David and I have just laughed about the whole episode, an unfortunate episode, yes, but the support we have had has been fantastic, where people have rightly pointed out that there’s more important things going on in the world!”