Residents in the inner-Sydney suburb of Newtown are up in arms after Melbourne advertising agency Apparition Media painted over one of the neighbourhood’s iconic murals for a promotional ad for the upcoming movie Mother!

Angry locals are reportedly furious after the much-loved It’s like a jungle sometimes artwork (see below), that appears on a heritage-listed building, was accidentally painted over for the promotion.

Apparently, Apparition Media never sought permission for its Mother! ad and it is now being investigated by the local council. However, what punishments it would incur are unclear.

Even Mother!’s director, Darren Aronofsky, has weighed-in from the States, posting his apologies to social media: “Just read of ad agency in Sydney breaking #1 graffiti rule. I’m embarrassed and furious. Apologies to [original artist Colin] Bebe and I’ll pay to replace piece.”

Apparition has also gone into total damage control, posting an apology to its Facebook page.

“Hey Newtowners, Let’s just start by saying we’re sorry to you all and you’ve been heard loud and clear,” it said. “We have expressed our regret for painting over it and apologised for our ignorance. We are going to work together to restore the original mural in the coming weeks.”

It then asked locals if it would be okay to finish the mural now all the damage had been done.

Apparition claim they have contacted the original artist and will pay him to re-paint the original once its movie promotion has run its course.