A regional daily parodied a famous horror film on its front page to illustrate a proposed new council initiative.

The Edinburgh Evening News spoofed 1984 slasher movie ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ when it reported on Edinburgh Council’s plans to bring in a night-life coordinator, dubbed a ‘night mayor’, to help curb disputes between evening entertainment venues, residents and the authorities.

Such officials already exist in cities including Amsterdam, New York and Paris.

The EEN ran with the front page headline ‘A night mayor on Rose Street’, a nod to a street in Edinburgh city centre known for its bars and pubs, adding the new appointee was aiming to “slash” noise complaints.

Editor Euan McGrory told HTFP: “Edinburgh is hotbed of entertainment and creativity. We are of course the world’s favourite festival city and there is always something going on from fireworks to open air concerts.

“There is so much going on at times that some of these events and some of the local residents don’t always rub along as well as they could. There’s a friction and a growing feeling in some quarters that the residents’ needs and wishes are too often being ignored.

“The idea of a ‘night mayor’, a city official who would work with community groups and event promoters to iron out some of these tensions, has been tested in cities such as New York and Paris and now Edinburgh is considering it too.

“It’s a serious issue and a debate that sometimes gets quite heated. We thought that approaching it with a bit of humour would give our readers something to smile about while helping get an important issue for the city talked about.

“We wanted to show too that it’s not just the amazing artists and tech innovators in Edinburgh that can be creative, its journalists can too. Our readers seem be appreciating the fun of it.”