GOOGLE has agreed to remove a picture of a loyalist bonfire which appears as the main image showcasing Portadown on its online map.

The web giant’s popular Google Maps app displays an image of an unlit bonfire stacked with wooden pallets and topped with a loyalist flag when browsers search for ‘Portadown’.

The image - taken of the July 2015 bonfire in Portadown's Edgarstown estate - is prominently displayed above ‘quick facts’ of the town, while a smaller gallery of other images submitted by Google users is also available to view.

However, when other areas are searched, Google Maps displays eye-catching images of local landmarks.

Nearby Lurgan’s main image is of picturesque mansion Brownlow House, while searching for Belfast will show a striking image of Stormont.

The decision to use the bonfire image for Portadown has been questioned by politicians from both traditions who called for Google to have it removed.

DUP councillor Jonathan Buckley, who sits on Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, said the image was 'inapproprotate' when compared to images for other towns and cities.

“I’m very proud of my culture, and bonfires have their place, but this is not the best image to portray Portadown,” he said.

“It’s disappointing that the picture is used in this way when we could have images of Portadown’s thriving high street, or the bridge over the River Bann, for example. This isn’t appropriate, and I will be raising this issue at council level.

Former SDLP councillor and Portadown representative Eamon McNeill said the image creates a “bad first impression” of the Co Armagh town.

He also claimed bonfires at the Edgarstown are “bedecked” in Irish tricolour flags and nationalist election posters before being torched each year as part of loyalist Eleventh Night celebrations.

“It is a hangover from the past and feeds a reputation that Portadown is working hard to leave behind,” Mr McNeill said.

“Times have changed. Portadown has changed, and our public image should reflect that. A much better representation of our modern, forward-facing town would be our thriving industrial park, our newly renovated People’s Park or indeed our prolific sports grounds, Shamrock Park, Tír na Nóg GAC, or Chambers Park.”

A spokesman for Google said in light of the criticism they were in the process of removing it as the main image from the Maps feature.