Spanish mayor publishes Facebook mock-up of what Gibraltar would look like during a Spanish invasion

Image causes anger among Gibraltar residents as Rock's chief minister flies in for London talks

A Spanish mayor has sparked outrage by using his Facebook page to publish a picture of Gibraltar – as it would look if the Spanish army invaded.

The image shows a Spanish flag flying high on the Rock, the silhouette of a bull on the lower slopes and triumphant marching Spanish troops in the foreground.

The mock-up appeared on the page of Francisco Javier Pérez Trigueros, a nationalist whose previous posts include details on the history of the Spanish flag.

Mr Trigueros is a member of the ruling Popular Party, and holds his position of office in the Callosa de Segura municipality in Valencia, some 375 miles up the coast from Gibraltar.

Members of a website for Gibraltar residents reacted angrily after one user drew their attention to Mr Trigueros’s activity on the social media site.

One forum member, Joe Jackson, was quoted in the Guardian as saying: “This image reminds me of the Argentines strolling through Port Stanley. It would be a very short and bloody conflict with Spain being the loser.”

Others accused Mr Trigueros of getting involved in the ongoing disagreement over the Rock to distract the public from Spain’s economic problems, while user Ernest Romero said he should “go to hell”, according to the Telegraph.

And Gibraltarian Jonathan Manasco said: “It is fools like this that encourage others to violence and hatred.”

The picture came as Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, was due to fly into London for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign secretary William Hague.

Meanwhile delays continued for residents of Gibraltar trying to cross the Spanish border, and last week police divers from Spain stirred up hostility over the disputed waters around the Rock with an unauthorised “inspection” of an artificial reef.