A PUB manager says he never expected the name of his traditional country tavern to be making headlines across the world.

The Black Cock Inn, in Llanfihangel Tal-y-llyn, featured in newspapers and online news sites from America to Asia after manager Lee Garrett told The Brecon & Radnor Express that Facebook had suspended the pub’s account due to "racist or offensive language".

"I didn’t expect it to go as far as it has. It has blown up quite significantly," said Lee.

"I’ve been contacted by an American journalist and people from all over Europe. It’s been a bigger talking point than I thought it would be and a real eye-opener.

"I appreciate all the support we’ve had, it’s been an amazing level of support."

Lee told The Express before Christmas how the name, which has been in use for at least 175 years, ran into trouble with Facebook. He received an automated message to say the village pub’s account was suspended when he tried logging on to post news to its 500 friends on the site.

Lee, wife Natsuko and his parents Denise and Keith, have run the pub since 2002 - but have only ever received one complaint about its name. A woman contacted the family last summer and said she found it offensive and covered her children’s eyes whenever they passed the pub.

After the story appeared it was soon followed up by London based The Independent, with other Fleet Street titles also reporting the "social media madness".

The ban was then reported by online news sites from across the world.

Lee said it proved impossible to keep up to date with the story: "I can’t keep track of all the stories, especially as it a busy time of the year."

Despite all the coverage the pub has received Lee said very few journalists had contacted him: "Only three journalists have actually contacted me after I spoke with The Brecon & Radnor Express. The Independent were the first and the Daily Mail contacted me on Christmas Day, I said ’what are you doing working on Christmas Day?’

"Breitbart in America also got hold of it and I was contacted by a journalist in Colorado."

The viral news story has also resulted in extra custom at the village pub which is seven miles from Brecon and takes its name from a black cockerel.

"We’ve had people come to see the pub because they’ve read about it," said Lee: "We had a couple come from Barry who came as they’d read about it."

Locals have also had their say on the story: "Most people have been amazed and it’s been quite a talking point ever since it appeared in the ’Radnor.

"There has been a lot of discussion about other names in the area such as Three Cocks."

Since the account was suspended Lee has been able to establish a business page on Facebook for the pub: "The new page has got pretty much ten times more people than the old one had and lots of people have contacted us through it."

However Lee said there has been silence from one corner of the internet: "I’ve not heard anything from Facebook and they haven’t commented in any of the news stories that have appeared."