Ladbrokes apologise after ill-judged tweet controversy

Ladbrokes have apologised to darts commentator Dave Clark after a tweet sent from its official account caused a storm of controversy online.

On Thursday evening, the @Ladbrokes account sent a message that made fun of Clark's facial expression, to which the commentator, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011, replied: "That'll be the chronic degenerative neurological condition that will eventually rob me of the ability to walk, talk and smile."

Clark's response led to a flurry of supportive messages, including from his colleague Wayne Mardle, who said: "You absolute disrespectful imbeciles. @ladbrokes You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Shortly after 9am on Friday morning, Ladbrokes responded to the controversy, saying in a tweet: "@DaveClarkTV we would like to apologise sincerely for what was a completely ill-judged, and inappropriate tweet. We will today be making a donation to @ParkinsonsUK in support of this excellent charity. Keep up the great work."

Since his diagnosis, Clark, who later acknowledged the apology, has become a high-profile campaigner for Parkinson's disease charities.

The incident is the second time in just a few months that Ladbrokes have landed in hot water over tweets issued from their official account. In September, a raised middle finger was tweeted at two Burnley players, just a month after Ladbrokes had become the club's official betting partner and sponsorship of their away stand.

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