A BURGER bar owner is facing fury – after he used a photo of Britain's worst mum to promote a Mother's Day deal.
Boss Joe Scholey says he's "done nothing wrong' after sharing an image of Karen Matthews on Instagram and Facebook to advertise takeaways.
But customers disagreed – and some social media users complained the image was "distasteful".
Karen Matthews, now 46, was jailed in 2008 after faking the abduction of her own daughter.
Joe, of The Otley Burger Company in West Yorkshire, posted her photo with the caption: "Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there.
"Don't forget to treat them to a burger tonight."
And the 28-year-old told Leeds Live it was "just a bit of a joke".
He said: "We are a burger company. We literally make money from the slaughter of animals.
"They found this offensive, yet we profit off slaughtering living creatures. They seem to be picking stupid fights.
"I don't really understand what their issue is. They have seen what we post.
"If they don't like it, don't comment."
He deleted the posts from social media after a slew of comments.
One said: "Eh? This is in very bad taste. A bit too far this time."
Another said: "This is really quite distasteful and to be honest doesn't really do anything to promote your business to decent people."
But Joe argued: "It was just a bit of a joke. I am not apologising because they got offended
"It does not mean they are correct.
"It's perfectly legal. I have done nothing wrong."
And he said he only took the posts down as he "had a lot on" and didn't want his phone "pinging all the time".
Matthews' daughter Shannon, then nine, disappeared on her way home from a swimming lesson in Dewsbury, West Yorks, sparking a huge £3.2million search.
She was found almost a month later hidden in a bed base in a grotty flat owned by Michael Donovan – the uncle of Matthews' then-boyfriend, Craig Meehan.
Hundreds of neighbours and friends had joined the mission to find Shannon, with Matthews seen sobbing on TV as she pleaded for her daughter to come home.
But the little girl was finally found tethered and drugged – and cops discovered Matthews and Donovan had hidden her away in a bid to claim a £50,000 reward.
Mr Meehan was not involved in the plot.
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