Gateshead's Metrocentre has been rapped by the advertising watchdog for promoting itself as "officially Britain's Best shopping centre" in a TV ad.

Metrocentre's claim, made in a voiceover and on-screen text, was based on the biannual Going Shopping survey which ranked it as the country's top shopping centre in 2008.

The ASA said Metrocentre should have made it clear that its claim to be Britain's best was based on the two-year-old survey.

"However, because that information was not made clear in the ad at the time of broadcast, we concluded that the ad was misleading," the watchdog ruled.

The ad can not run again in its present form and Metrocentre, which has worked with Robson Brown on its advertising for more than 20 years, must not claim to be the best again without referencing the survey.