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Red-faced Tesco chiefs have withdrawn a range of patriotic Welsh T-shirts after getting the spelling of "Cymru am byth” wrong.

The supermarket giant had covered the red tops with the phrase “Cymru am buth” instead.

Cymru am byth literally means "Wales forever" and is a slogan that is synonymous with national pride.

The Daily Post reported that the £7 t-shirts were printed specially in readiness for St David’s Day and the Six Nations.

Red-faced Tesco workers removed them from their stores in Wales after being alerted by Eleri Jones, 39, a mum from Newtown, Powys.

(Image: Eleri Jones)

A photograph of the shirts was shared widely on social media, causing many to express their displeasure and mirth.

Mrs Jones, who is a teacher, said: “I was going to buy one when I noticed the mistake and thought to myself, ‘Oh my Gosh!”

“It’s obvious that they were not checked by anybody who speaks Welsh before they were printed before being packed and dispatched and then put on sale.”

“People’s eyes have been rolling!”

In a letter of apology to Mrs Jones, Tesco’s Dale Ingram wrote: “I am so sorry to hear about the one of our clothing lines has a spelling mistake. I can understand how disappointing this must be for you.

“I have been in contact with the Newtown superstore and requested them to remove the offending lines. I have also contacted our supplier to make them aware of this issue.

“Unfortunately, it does appear that something went wrong on this occasion, but we hope you’ll be reassured to know the information you have given us will help us to stop this from happening again.

Tesco spokesman Rhodri Evans added: “We have a variety of t-shirts on sale bearing the words Cymru am byth, so that people can show their pride in Wales in the run up to St David’s Day and the Six Nations, and are disappointed that a spelling mistake has occurred on one of those products, despite the processes we have in place to prevent such errors.

“We have now withdrawn this children’s t-shirt from sale and are organising for our stock of it to be donated to charity.”