THE day Newcastle United supporters have been waiting for has finally arrived - the club's new owners have begun the process of removing the Sports Direct advertising signs from St James' Park.

Former owner Mike Ashley controversially plastered Newcastle's home stadium with adverts for his sportswear brand, with fans regularly bemoaning both the way in which the branding ruined the look of St James' Park and the fact that the club's ability to earn external advertising revenue was severely diminished by the tie-up with Sports Direct.

When Amanda Staveley completed her Saudi Arabai-backed takeover of the club, she confirmed her intention to start removing the advertising boards.

That process has now begun, with workmen at St James' Park this morning beginning the process of overhauling the stadium infrastructure.

Speaking last month, Staveley said: "The Sports Direct signs, I'm looking forward to coming down.

"It's a slight frustration when I go into the stadium and I try and take a picture which doesn't have Sports Direct in it."

The Wor Flags group have posted images on their Twitter account this morning showing a cherry-picker removing Sports Direct signage at the Leazes End of the ground.