A Starbucks customer says she was shocked when she looked at her cup and found the barista had written the word 'hippo' on the side of it instead of her name.

Nadia Khan was in a branch in Feltham, London, with her mum when she ordered a cookies and cream frappuccino.

After receiving her order, she realised that 'hippo' had been scribbled across the side - the spot usually reserved for the customer's name.

At first, she says she didn't think much of it.

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Speaking to the Mirror, the 25-year-old said: "When I got my drink, I noticed 'Hippo' but I dismissed it as really bad writing."

Nadia's mum was disgusted with the message. Credit: Nadia Khan

It was only when she told her mum Andria about the bizarre incident that Nadia gave it some actual thought and realised what they had done.

Andria then went 'absolutely ballistic' and stormed up to the counter and confronted the member of staff about the message written on her daughter's coffee.

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Nadia, an admin worker, said: "Mum told him he should treat customers with respect, no matter how skinny, fat or whatever."

The chain has now issued a statement apologising to Nadia, and said they are trying to make sure it never happens again.

A spokesman said: "We have a longstanding tradition of connecting with our customers by writing their names on our cups.

Nadia's mum was disgusted by the incident and confronted the member of staff. Credit: Nadia Khan

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"This incident is not indicative of the welcoming environment we aim to provide in our stores, and have apologised to the customer directly.

"We are working closely with the store team to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Last year, Starbucks were forced to apologise after one of their baristas wrote a racial slur on the coffee cup of a Latino customer.

The worker at the Starbucks café in the town of La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, allegedly printed the word 'beaner' on the side of a cup of coffee ordered by a man called Pedro.

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'Beaner' is a derogatory term for Mexicans in the United States.

Priscilla Hernandez is a co-worker at the restaurant that Pedro works at. She told CNN that they go into the Starbucks there for a coffee all of the time. She said: "I asked him if he realised what they had put on his cup. He said no. So, I was really upset about it, because that isn't OK.