Members of three Facebook groups from Tipton are up in arms after being banned from the social media website for discussing their love of the delicacy.

Wendy Jones from Cradley Heath was one of the first people to learn that people were being banned for referring to 'faggots'.

She said: "I couldn't believe it when I heard people were being banned. We were only talking about the food we loved. I think it's absolutely ridiculous."

And she claimed members had also been banned for saying they were from the Black Country, as it contravenes the website's policy on racist posts.

The Facebook warning has been sent over use of the word 'faggots'

"All of my family love faggots and peas and we are always having them," added the 45-year-old mother-of-six. "I think something needs to be done, as people will just keep getting banned."

Her mother Margaret Jones is one of those who has been temporarily barred, after she mentioned the word in a post about how ridiculous the situation was.

The 68-year-old from Tipton said: "I'm disgusted with Facebook's reaction to the word faggots. It's a delicacy in the Black Country.

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"I have emphysema and can't go outside sometimes, but Facebook is my connection to my friends, family and the outside world."

Robert Wilkes, aged 54, was born in Tipton but now lives in Taunton, Devon. He said he had been banned from the website for 12 hours.

He said: "I was one of the original people to receive a ban on Facebook for saying faggots. It was in a food context as the group were discussing our favourite local dishes. I am ex-Tipton now living in the West Country, where faggots are also popular. I cannot believe that Facebook could not see the context of how this word was being used."

Another regular user who says she was banned was Janet Wilkinson, also from Tipton.

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She said: "Faggots have been around for more than 100 years and while I appreciate it may have a different meaning in other countries, to us it's just a type of food."

A spokesman for Facebook claimed a single post had been removed due to an error, adding no-one should have been banned and all users should find their accounts back up.

Has Facebook gone too far? Or does the word need to be banned? Have your say in the comments section: