Is this a real picture of an Edinburgh Trams poster?

Twitter users were left stunned by the wording of a seemingly real poster on the side of an Edinburgh tram stop - but the lettering has been photoshopped.

The photoshopped version of the poster. Image: Twitter

The picture, which has been shared multiple times on Twitter, alters the last letter of a tram safety campaign message from "Look out for the tram-pede" to "Look out for the tram-pedo."

An Edinburgh Trams spokesman confirmed that the images circulating on social media have been doctored, explaining that the real poster is actually part of a campaign which was launched during the Festival to remind residents and visitors of the importance of being safe around the tramway.

He added: "The STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. campaign included messaging about the weight of a tram being equivalent to nine African elephants and used the ‘Look out for the tram-pede’ phrase. Although it’s disappointing to see the artwork has been photoshopped by some social media users, we’re happy that the campaign is still a talking point."

The spokesman confirmed that all physical posters, including the one at Haymarket which was photoshopped, remain as first printed.

Edinburgh Trams also posted a Tweet which reads: "Hi everyone, we're sure you've seen a photoshopped image from one of our posters that has been doing the internet rounds for some time. Won't be re-posting it, but rest assured it's a fake. Thanks to everyone who has written in."

The image was posted earlier today on Reddit, where the culprit appears to have since come clean about its authenticity.

"I wish this was real, but it's a photoshop, I just changed the last 'e' into an 'o', it was the first thing I thought of when I saw it," they admitted.

Unsurprisingly, the fake image has drawn quite a reaction on Twitter today.

Many speculated on the idea that the message was trying to equate the phrase 'tram-pedo' to a 'torpedo.'

One Twitter user, called dr Faulk, wrote: "Right, so.... "Tram-pedo" as in "torpedo", but how does that relate to elephants? "Tram-pede" as in "stempede", fine, but why the "pedo"?

Another Tweeter, John Nichol, who is membership secretary of the Scottish Green Party, wrote: "This... This can't be real, can it???"

Well, at least now we know it most definitely isn't.