Gloves and shoes are just two of the items being sold on the British high street containing real fur – which is labelled as ‘fake’.

Raccoon dogs were introduced from Asia to the western Soviet Union and are now culled too,

An investigation by Sky News and the Humane Society International discovered a number of British retailers stocking the clothing.

After analysing the items, fibres expert Phil Greaves said the use of real fur – which is labelled as fake – is becoming increasingly common.

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The fur came from a range of animals - including cats raccoons dogs among others. Many of these animals would have been skinned alive to create the fur trinkets and trims on high street clothing.

It is believed to come from Asia. While fur farming is illegal in the UK – and has been since 2003 – real fur has entered the production chain at some point in the manufacturing process.

Animals farmed for their fur are routinely kept in small cramped conditions.

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International told Sky News: "We are finding an increasing amount of real fur being sold either mislabelled or not labelled at all as real fur, in the last couple of years in the UK.

“This is a problem in two ways. Firstly it's a problem for the animals who are suffering awful, deprived lives and excruciating deaths on fur farms and traps around the world to produce these products.

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"And secondly, it's a problem for consumers, who are not being protected from unfair trading, who want to shop ethically and avoid the fur trade."

The fur was discovered on items sold in department store House of Fraser and clothes chain Missguided. Both retailers claim to be ‘fur free’.

A House of Fraser spokesperson said: "House of Fraser has a strict no fur policy and we ensure all of our suppliers and brand partners are aware of this.

"We would never knowingly mislead our customers, who we believe have the right to know what they purchasing. We are extremely concerned that fur can be mislabelled in this way, particularly for brands that we stock.

"Our customers want assurances that House of Fraser is not be complicit in such unnecessary suffering of animals and we take this issue very seriously and have communicated this to the brand in question.

"As a result all products have been removed from sale and returned to the brand.

"We will offer a full refund on any purchases of this item previously made. We will also be launching a full brand partners and supplier engagement to ensure that they are reminded of our no fur policy."

A spokesperson from Missguided added: "We will be launching an internal investigation with the relevant suppliers and will ensure these matters are addressed urgently."