The mum of a three-year-old boy named after Wayne Rooney says staff at a chocolate store refused to write her son’s name on an Easter egg because of ‘copyright issues’.

Jo-anne Scholes, 43, said staff at Thorntons’ Bury town centre store wouldn't write her son Rooney’s name on the gift for fear of breaching copyright.

As a compromise, the shopworker agreed to ice the tot’s full name - Rooney Scholes - on the chocolate but United superfan Jo-anne - who also has a tattoo of Eric Cantona on her arm - said she has been left bemused by the ‘barmy’ decision.

The mum-of-four said: “It’s just pathetic that they wouldn’t let a child have his name on an Easter egg for fear of upsetting Wayne Rooney. I can’t imagine Wayne Rooney would care less.

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“It’s just nonsense anyway. Rooney is his name, does that mean he’s not allowed to have his name on anything because he shares it with a famous footballer?

“It’s really annoying because it turned what was meant to be a nice, personal gift into something which looked really impersonal and just a bit silly really.”

The egg was purchased as a surprise by a family friend at the store on Saturday.

Jo-anne, of Laburnum Lane, Rochdale - who coincidentally shares a last name with Old Trafford legend Paul Scholes - is a lifelong United fan who also has two cats named Cantona and Berbatov.

In a further coincidence, Jo-anne also has a 16-year-old son called Anderson but the naming came long before the arrival of his namesake Brazilian midfielder in 2007.

She said she called her youngest child Rooney as the ultimate tribute to the club’s 214-goal striker.

She said: “He’s been my favourite player for years just because of his style of play and the way he carries the team.

“I had a couple of nervy moments when it looked like Wayne might be off to Chelsea in the summer but thankfully he stayed where he belongs.”

In UK law, there is no copyright or trademark protection for people’s names.

Thorntons were not available for comment.

The children named after heroes

Little Rooney Scholes isn’t the first child to be named after a Manchester football legend - and in some cases the namesakes have gone on to become heroes themselves.

Arsenal and Holland star Dennis Bergkamp was named after Denis Law by his parents, who unfortunately didn’t check the spelling of the iconic striker.

Last year, the names Robin and Vincent saw an explosion in popularity across the country as Messrs Van Persie and Kompany won plaudits for their on-field exploits at Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium respectively.

Likewise, in the US the arrival of former United ace David Beckham saw Becks’ surname gatecrash the 1,000 most popular baby names across the Atlantic in 2009.

However, outside the Manchester footballing world, it would take some doing to top Burnley fans Amanda and Stephen Preston.

When they welcomed a son in January 2011, they named it after all 14 players used in the Clarets’ last league match - naming him Jensen Jay Alexander Bikey Carlisle Duff Elliot Fox Iwelumo Marney Mears Paterson Thompson Wallace Preston.

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