A mother was left embarrassed after complaining she had been sold a blue toilet seat from Ikea - only to discover she hadn't taken off the protective film.

Marie Stent, from Cambridge, paid £40 for the toilet seat, but began 'freaking out' that it was blue rather than white, having lost the receipt.

She had begun to accept the fact that she would now have a blue toilet - until her daughter Amber, 18, pointed out that the blue plastic cover could be peeled off.

Amber shared the hilarious story on Twitter, which has since gone viral - with others admitting they have made the same mistake in the past.

Marie Stent, from Cambridge, was left embarrassed after complaining she had been sold a blue toilet seat from Ikea - only to discover she hadn't taken off the protective film

Her daughter Amber shared the hilarious story on Twitter, which has since gone viral

Sharing photographs of the toilet seat, Amber, a law student at Newcastle University, explained: 'Mum bought a £40 toilet seat from Ikea, gets home and starts freaking out because it's bright blue and she's chucked away the receipt.

'After about 30 minutes of accepting it, she's finally got her head around the idea of having a blue toilet, until I come and read the label.'

A diagram on the 'Ekaren' seat shows the buyer how to peel the blue protective film off.

Commenting about the hilarious incident, Amber later said: 'She couldn't believe it, she was absolutely convinced it was blue and had actually accepted she was going to have a blue toilet.

Marie (pictured with daughter Amber) had begun to accept the fact that she would now have a blue toilet - until her daughter Amber, 18, pointed out the plastic cover could be peeled off

Amber pointed out the label on the toilet seat, which showed the film could be taken off

'I just saw a little bit of white under the film and then saw the label and it clicked.

'I didn't expect it to be this popular, it's not even that funny really. I think it's just the fact so many people have gone through the same thing. Ikea obviously need to make the label clearer.'

Others admitted that Amber's mother Marie was not the first to make the mistake of not peeling off the protective film.

Sam Mac posted online: 'My cousin had a trendy blue microwave for a while.'

Amber said her mother had been 'absolutely convinced' that the toilet seat was blue

Marie had bought the 'Ekaren' toilet seat (pictured), which costs £40 from Ikea

Another user, posting under the username Schizoaffected, added: 'That happened to me too and to my shame I returned it.'

Meanwhile, Amy Harcombe commented: 'I had the blue stuff on my cutlery drawer for 10 years before I noticed.'

John Hannah also posted: 'When I worked in Ikea a guy drove back to Edinburgh from Aberdeen raging at being sold a blue butchers block.

'Customer service couldn't calm him. I turned up, peeled the blue protective paper off the stainless steel top and he picked it up and walked away without another word.'

Others said that they have also made a similar mistake with the protective film on products