SMART phones may be at the cutting edge of modern communication with its satellite technology — but not when it comes to finding a decent restaurant in Tavistock!

According to the latest Apple Map graphics, accessed on iphones, if users scroll down its map of Plymouth Road then up pops fast food chain McDonald's — which just happens to be the site of fine dining restaurant Gorton's.

There was a McDonald's on the site of the Lidl's supermarket on the same road, but that was closed around three years ago and was a mile from quality eating establishment Gorton's Restaurant at 19 Plymouth Road.

But master chef and owner Peter Gorton can see the funny side that the Apple Maps compilers have mixed up two establishments at opposite ends of the 'food dining experience'.

Peter said: 'It's quite funny, you just have to make a joke of it — especially as the ethos of how we approach dining is so wide apart.

'It's ironic really as we were responsible for the campaign to make sure that McDonalds did not come to the town centre.

'I was even giving a grilling on BBC Radio 4 of how we were depriving people of jobs by stopping McDonald's. I said that if there was support in the town for opening one in Tavistock it would have been opened but there wasn't!'

Other blunders on the phone application include references to florist Roland Bailey in Duke Street, which closed down many years ago, BJ Videos in Barley Market Street or the Victorian Parlour and the Shambles in West Street — businesses no longer there.

And if you are looking for important town landmarks as identifying map icons such as St Eustachius Church or Meadowlands Leisure Centre, they do not appear.

There are more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, which has nearly half a billion locations.

But the inaccurate application has led to Apple having to apologise to customers through its own website.

Tim Cook, the company's chief executive officer, said: 'At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers.

'With the launch of our new maps, we fell short on this commitment.

'We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make maps better.'