Martin Fergus took a photo to show the stark contrast between an advertised meal and the one he received

An Italian eaterie has been dubbed a 'shambles' over a glossy advertising picture of its £15 lunch box versus the grim food a customer received.

The Italian at Redstones, located in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, has been advertising its new meal takeaway box, stuffed with mouth-watering chips, mozzarella sticks and chicken strips.

Customer Martin Fergus was expecting to open up his box and find a similar dinner but instead was greeted with grey slop that he paid £15 for.

Fergus was so shocked and disappointed with the contents of his box that he took a picture of the grim food to show others.

His friend shared the image of the dismal food on social media and wrote: 'The dream vs reality. The Redstones making a f***ing shambles of things here.'

The restaurant's co-owner said on Tuesday that he was embarrassed by the contents of Fergus' box and the incident wasn't a proper reflection of the eaterie.

The publicity image of the packaged food deal shows a colourful arrangement of tasty-looking, wholesome Italian delights, carefully arranged with three dips and two bottles of Italian beer.

Fergus was so shocked and disappointed with the contents of his box that he took a picture of the grim, greasy and grey food (pictured)

The Italian at Redstones, located in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, has been advertising its new meal takeaway box, stuffed with appetising chips, mozzarella sticks and chicken strips (pictured) on Facebook

The eaterie uploaded the taste bud-tingling picture on its Facebook page, writing: 'Introducing the Italian munchy box, £14.95 - focaccia of choice, mozzarella sticks, arancini, chicken strips, chips (Parmesan & chilli or Cajun), Onion rings, 3 dips.

'Available for delivery or collection 12pm-9pm every day. #getinmybelly.'

The promotional post was quickly shared amongst friends in the area due to the appetising image at a steal of a price, with customers licking their lips at the £15 price tag.

But the takeaway box presented to Fergus, from Hamilton, was a world away from what was being hawked in the advertisement.

The man opened the box to find a mostly monochrome and partly unidentifiable, greasy mush. The dips and the cold beers were absent.

Social media users agreed that the meal did not look up to scratch.

The restaurant's co-owner said on Tuesday that he was embarrassed by the contents of Fergus and the incident wasn't a proper reflection of the eatery (pictured)

The restaurant had uploaded the colourful, taste bud-tingling picture on its Facebook page, writing: 'Introducing the Italian munchy box, £14.95 - focaccia of choice, mozzarella sticks, arancini, chicken strips, chips (Parmesan & chilli or Cajun), Onion rings, 3 dips'

One said: 'Poor show from @ItaliaRedstones that looks rank.'

Another said: 'Aw no way man @ItaliaRedstones I was so excited about this and it's all over before it even begun.'

Liam Spencer added: 'Gutted about this.'

And Grant Paton quipped: 'Looks like it's been s*** oot.'

Speaking on Tuesday, co-owner of the Italian at Redstones George Tsamasfyris, said: 'It is embarrassing and doesn't represent our business.

'We are in the process of contacting the individual because we were not aware that this munchy box was sent out like that. We're investigating and we're going to offer him some vouchers or something.'

One of Fergus' friends shared an image of his dismal meal on social media and wrote: 'The dream vs reality. The Redstones making a f***ing shambles of things here'

He continued: 'We're trying to investigate who was on shift and identify the reason why we sent the munchy box without checking the quality.

'There will be repercussions for the chef or manager who sent it out. We're very reputable in the area for the quality of our food and service.'

The so called 'munchy box' craze is said to have started in Glasgow and saw pizza boxes being filled to the brim with takeaway food.

Despite health warnings from the government, the practice has spread and the boxes are now available in various guises - including Indian, Chinese and breakfast food.