A TOP gay club has come under fire for holding a ‘chav-themed’ night.

Bosses at Revenge in Old Steine, Brighton, advertised the January 22 event with a Burberry-patterned flyer and a picture of Little Britain character Vicky Pollard.

The flyer promised “chav anthems all night” and asked punters: “How chav will you go?”

The word ‘chav’ first came to prominence in the early 2000s and is used as a derogatory term to describe a working class, antisocial youth subculture.

The seemingly innocent event has been criticised for promoting inequality and “mocking the working class”.

Alex Foley, 22, from Brighton, started an online petition calling for the club to apologise and end the event.

He said: “It’s a shame that a club that has an obligation to be inclusive and welcoming towards all sorts of people decides to mock the working class.

“There’s a lot of literature as to how chav is detrimental to the working class as a whole. The Top Gear supporters of the world will say that whenever Jeremy Clarkson has delivered his latest gaffe that it is just tongue-in-cheek and we’re oversensitive.

“But the club has to ask itself where it would be if the PC bullies hadn’t cracked down on homophobic remarks decades ago. It’s apparently fashionable to bash the poor now.”

More than 100 people have signed the online petition since it was created last Wednesday.

However, club bosses insisted they did not intend to offend anyone.

A statement from Revenge said: “Our theme for January 22 was never intended to cause any offence whatsoever and we are genuinely sorry if this is the case.

“Since announcing the chav theme, we have made it very clear it is tongue-in-cheek by using images of pop stars and comedy characters, focusing on the fashion and music associated with the identity and certainly never adhering to social class.

“Revenge is an entertainment venue and we strive to give people the best possible night in a safe environment.

“We pride ourselves on raising funds for charities and LGBT groups including Sussex Beacon, Mind Out, THT, the University societies and the Rainbow Fund.

“We put on events that appeal to a diverse audience and are one of the most welcoming venues in the city.”