Within hours of putting up a banner outside his premises advertising new jobs Kirklees Council had ordered managing director Simon Lindsay to take it down.

Mr Lindsay, who runs engineering company Turbo Precision Components on the Hoyer Industrial Estate in Leeds Road, said his firm had recently won an order meaning another four to six employees were needed.

A banner was made and attached to roadside railings but within three hours the council had sent two officers to insist it was taken down. Staff were also reprimanded for illegal advertising.

One employee said: “You would have thought Kirklees would have been thanking us for creating these jobs not penalising us.

“They obviously don’t support local business. Who was it hurting for a few days?

“I bet if you asked Leeds or Bradford Council to advertise jobs they would have jumped at it.”

Mr Lindsay added: “We were advertising for engineers and semi-skilled workers.

“I wasn’t too happy at Kirklees’s reaction. We are trying to create jobs. Recruitment can cost quite a lot of money and in this day and age every penny counts so we thought this was a good idea.”

Turbo Precision components supply turbocharger housings, compressors and bearing housings.

When the firm expanded from Lockwood to new, bigger premises on the Hoyer Industrial Estate, it was praised for its innovation and job creation.

The premises were opened in October, 2012 by Colne Valley Conservative MP Jason McCartney and the launch was attended by Kirklees Council chief executive Adrian Lythgo and then council leader Clr Mehboob Khan.

The company started out as a two-man operation in 2009. It now employs 30 people.

A Kirklees Council spokesman said: “We can confirm that a banner placed on one of our railings was removed.  The banner was causing a potential hazard by obscuring the view for both pedestrians and traffic at a pedestrian crossing.  The banner was returned to Turbo Precision Components and no further action has been taken.  Banners should not be attached to street furniture including railings without the permission of the council.”