Primark has been accused of sexualising children after a shopper spotted they were selling tiny denim hotpants aimed at babies.

The 'disgusted' 23-year-old shopper spotted the £3.50 cut-off denim shorts aimed at children '0 to three months' at the store's Broadmead branch in Bristol.

The customer, who chose not to reveal her name, said the 'sick' denim shorts 'sexualise' babies, and ought to be removed from sale immediately.

Primark has been accused of sexualising children after a shopper spotted they were selling tiny denim hotpants for babies

'I just think they are sick. What on earth were Primark thinking?' said the woman, who is from the St George area of Bristol.

She claims everyone who has seen the picture has agreed it is 'sick'.

'I just stopped when I saw them and though these cannot be serious - these tiny hotpants are purposely sexualising babies and that is disgusting.

'There is so much in the news right now about children and young girls being sexually abused and items like this and the sexualisation of babies is making it worse.

'Children are innocent and they should be kept that way.'

The 23-year-old says she has not yet made a formal complaint to Primark.

But not everyone agreed with her views, and the photo sparked a debate on social media.

One woman wrote: 'Um hello?!!! They are shorts, no where on the label does it say hot pants. At that age and especially in this weather the baby would be wearing tights or leggings underneath. They are not sexualised in any way apart from in your own mind!'

Another added: 'Why do people want to dress their baby's like teenagers! Horrible tough material against their soft skin, it must be so uncomfortable for the babies.'

Others pointed out that the woman is wrong to suggest there is a link between children's clothing and child abuse.

A spokesman for Primark told MailOnline: 'This assertion is simply untrue. As clearly indicated on the label, the item is a pair of babies' shorts, designed to be age appropriate and comfortable for use with nappies.

'It has, however, come to our attention that an error in a recent batch of the shorts has caused the turn-up to be rolled twice instead of once. We have removed this batch from sale so that they can be adjusted to the correct specification.

'We are committed to age-appropriate clothing, and all our childrenswear is designed fully in line with British Retail Consortium guidelines.'

A Primark spokesperson denied they were hotpants and said they were a rogue batch with an error in the way the denim is turned up.

They said: 'This assertion is simply untrue.

'As clearly indicated on the label, the item is a pair of babies' shorts, designed to be age appropriate and comfortable for use with nappies.

'It has, however, come to our attention that an error in a recent batch of the shorts has caused the turn-up to be rolled twice instead of once.

'We have removed this batch from sale so that they can be adjusted to the correct specification.

'We are committed to age-appropriate clothing, and all our childrenswear is designed fully in line with British Retail Consortium guidelines.'