IT IS hard to believe that a photo of two cows standing in a field could ever be seen as 'overtly sexual'.

But a small online photo gallery based in Winchester was banned from advertising on Facebook – for posting just that.

Northwall Gallery had to complain to the social media company for two months before its ban was reversed.

In the meantime they were unable to share sponsored posts, meaning their business took a hit.

Photographer Mike Hall said: "We're a small online photographic gallery, selling our own prints here in Winchester. We found that we'd been banned from advertising on Facebook and some of our images were being banned from being sold, because of some completely inappropriate application of Facebook's policies.

"As an example, this picture of cows in Winnall Moors was banned because it failed Facebook's policy on being overtly sexual."

The same policy was applied to an image of the England cricket team at the Ageas Bowl.

Mr Hall added: "We've had our advertising ban reversed, but it took two months."