St Albans theatre giving away tickets to Leave-voter Lee Hurst’s show went about as well as you’d think

A St Albans theatre’s attempt to give away tickets to a show by controversial comedian Lee Hurst was met with a backlash on Twitter.

After the Alban Arena announced a competition to win the tickets to Hurst’s show on Sunday, May 13, residents took to social media to condemn the comic, who famously supports the UK leaving the European Union.

Hurst, who has featured on shows such as Have I Got News For You, They Think It’s All Over and Pointless Celebrities, was embroiled in controversy after he compared Remain voters to Royalists in the English Civil War hunting for people involved in the execution of King Charles I.

He has also posited a scenario involving the torture of a terrorist to save a baby tied to a timebomb.

Residents of St Albans, which voted to Remain in the European Union by a margin of 62 per cent, were quick to tweet their dislike of Hurst, with most comments too explicit for a family newspaper.

One user commented: “I would go but I’m self-immolating myself that day”, while another said: “You’d have more laughs at a crematorium”.

“I think it’s against Trade Descriptions Act to call this man a comedian” was someone else’s reaction.

The Arena’s competition closed yesterday.