A PROMOTIONS manager has laughed off hurtful remarks made by a colleague that appeared accidentally in a newspaper.

Melanie Fletcher, 28, was launching a new computerised ID card scheme at Blu Bambu in Newcastle.

She did not realise club manager Dale Holden, 30, had typed an insulting message in the members information section and it was published yesterday by a regional newspaper on Tyneside.

Ms Fletcher said: "I was a bit disappointed it was printed, because it could be embarrassing for my parents.

"But I know it was not malicious. It was an in-house joke that went wrong. It was just a bit of a daft carry-on.

"We are always messing about and we call him all sorts, so I am not too worried."

Mr Holden has managed the Bigg Market nightclub since it opened two-and-a-half years ago.

He was launching a £6,000 system to log members' thumbprints once they have proved they are 18 or over.

The idea is eliminate underage drinking, but he did not know that his childish prank would backfire.

He said: "I can understand she might have been upset, but she knows it was not meant maliciously.

"It was not meant to be published and it is not fair for her because a lot of people have seen it.

"It was a private joke that has gone wrong. She is really one of my best mates."