London’s “best” fish and chip shop has been ordered to remove a Union flag mural by council officials.

The owner of the Golden Chippy, in Greenwich, south-east London, was left bemused after a design featuring the flag held by a humanoid fish and a slogan saying “A Great British Meal” were allegedly deemed inappropriate for the area.

Chris Kanizi and his staff have had a strong footfall of visitors, including many overseas tourists, since the shop was deemed London’s top-rated restaurant on TripAdvisor in 2016.

Painted only a month ago, at a cost of £250, the mural was providing a further boon to his business by giving social media-conscious customers a selfie opportunity. It is not the first time Mr Kanizi, who arrived in the UK in 1977 from northern Cyprus, has fallen foul of Greenwich council with his zeal for celebrating fish and chips.

In 2016, the town hall ordered him to remove a much larger sign – about 17 feet high – featuring a very similar design, from above the door.

He relented after a two-year battle and a petition of support, which attracted more than 3,000 signatures when he was faced with being taken to court.

“It’s just something to put a smile on people’s faces,” he said. “But the council said “this is a preservation area – you can’t have that and you’ve got to paint over it. They also said people had been complaining, but I don’t believe that. Everyone who has talked to me say they love it”.

Mr Kanizi arrived in London with the ambition of studying medicine, but says he instead became “an expert fish surgeon”.