Manchester estate agency slammed as ‘vile’ for saying Covid is a ‘blessing in disguise’ as house prices increased

A MANCHESTER estate agency has been slammed as "vile" for saying Covid is a "blessing in disguise" as house prices increased.

JP & Brimelow in Chorlton, Manchester, posted leaflets to boast of the area's "impressive" growth during the pandemic.

😷 Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

The leaflet was sent to locals with the heading ";Has Covid been a blessing in disguise for Chorlton and Old Trafford?" and was addressed to "successful people".

It pointed out the average price of a detached home in September 2020 was now 8.4% higher than the year before.

The ad also said despite the pandemic bringing "so much uncertainty, so much worry about jobs and of course concern over health", "the role our homes play in our lives has increased greatly in importance".

The agency has now apologised for the "clumsy" and "ill thought out" ad after being widely criticised for the tone deaf leaflet.

According to official figures, the death toll from the deadly bug has passed the grim milestone of 100,000.

The latest stats show that Old Trafford has recorded an average of 476.6 new cases per 100,000 in the past seven days - higher than the national average.

Chorlton South also has 527.7 new cases per 100,000 in the past seven days, again higher than the national average, while Charlton North has recorded 356.2 new cases per 100,000.

Andrew Western, the leader of Trafford Council, slammed the flyer as "disgusting".

'SOULLESS'

Other locals shared photographs of the leaflet on social media, calling it "vile".

One wrote: "They are trying to capitalise on the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the illness of many, many more and not to mention people who have lost their jobs, or their livelihood.

"Personally I think it is disgusting, soulless behaviour."

In a statement, the estate agent said: "We would like to say a heartfelt sorry to everyone in our community who encountered our latest flyer.

"We got it wrong and for that, we apologise unreservedly.

"We have all lost loved ones due to the pandemic and we acknowledge that the flyer was not representative of the times we are living in."

It's not the first time people have been criticised for tone deaf messages during the pandemic with one influencer particularly slammed for her lavish holidays.

Khloe Kardashian was also slammed for seemingly boasting about her extravagant lifestyle.

Her sister Kim Kardashian also attracted criticism for her lavish birthday party during the lockdown.