Retail giant Tesco has apologised and withdrawn a doll from sale which was labelled as an "inflatable gay best friend".

It was described on their website as an "amusing gift".

Just yesterday the retailer had to remove a Halloween costume called "Psycho Ward" from sale after it sparked widespread criticism from mental health groups.

A Tesco spokesperson said "This product was uploaded to the website by a third party seller but was removed from sale immediately because we found it offensive".

The doll as advertised on the webpage

"The webpage should have been removed at that time and we are looking into why it is still visible two months later".

"We have very clear guidelines for third party sellers who list items on our website, and are very sorry that on this occasion they weren't followed" they added.

The firm has 142 Irish stores and employs over 15,000 people here.