TOURISM bosses have laughed off attempts from abroad to ‘steal’ one of the North East’s most picturesque stretches of coastline.

It might be more than 5,000 miles away and land-locked, but that hasn’t stopped Canadian province Alberta, trying to claim Bamburgh Beach as their own in a new advertising campaign.

The five-second clip, featuring a boy and a girl laughing and running through the sand dunes with the North Sea in the background, has been included in an ad as part of a $25m (£14m) re-branding initiative organised by Alberta’s public affairs bureau.

While it might represent a slap in the face for the panorama of the province, back on this side of the Atlantic tourism bosses have been tickled by the inclusion of the Northumberland vista.

Sheelagh Caygill, marketing executive at Northumberland Tourism, said the exposure was testament to the natural beauty of the area and has come at a time when the region is working to continue the holiday industry’s recent boom.

She said: "It is quite funny, a landlocked province, presenting an image of itself as an island. But Northumberland Tourism is really thrilled that a picture of beach in the north of England is being used for an Alberta campaign.

"We see it as promoting the beauty of the north of England, which is often neglected.

"I hope that when people in Alberta realize where the beach is, they’ll come to visit."

The out-of-place inclusion was spotted by Canadian Peter Bailey, who noticed the picture while he was visiting the promotional website for the province.

The boat enthusiast was determined to pin-point the stretch of water, but following a series of pressing emails he was disappointed to discover the attractive rugged beach-front was more than an eight-hour flight away. His affection for the scene means he has since become a JournalLive reader.

The provincial government of Alberta has denied any attempt to mislead their audience.