M&S have since changed their signs.

His comments prompted many to believe that the account was a parody.

James Bruce tweeted: "Just checking. This is a real thing, you really did this? If it's a parody you've done a great job. Please say it's a parody. Please."

Micktw68 tweeted: "This has to be a parody account. If not then @sussex_police need to take a long look at how their funding is being spent.#crimefreecounty?"

Sussex Police have since confirmed that it is not a parody account and that the comments were posted by Sergeant Allan when he was off duty.

They declined to comment on why their officer had handed out advice to the supermarkets, or whether he was authorised to do so.

Sergeant Allan works with the lesbian, gay and transgender communities and helps to recruit hate crime ambassadors across the county.

He has also spoken out on homophobic, transgender, racist and anti-Semitic crimes.

The officer made the comments on the first day of Pride weekend in Brighton last year. But they surfaced again following Pride 2017 in Brighton last weekend.

Despite the backlash which Sergeant Allan has faced, both Tesco and Sainsbury’s responded to the criticism.

A spokesperson from Sainsbury’s said: "Our signs in store are designed to help customers easily find the items they're looking for. We thanked Mr Allan for his feedback when he got in touch last year."