Poundland sparks outrage over ‘sexually suggestive’ children’s knickers with ‘inappropriate’ symbol emblazoned on front

AN APPALLED mum strikes back at Poundland after she accidentally purchased "sexually suggestive" children's knickers for her daughter. Nicola Pritchard, 40, bought a £2.50 four-pack of knickers from the bargain retailers to give to her 10-year-old before noticing the design. After her daughter questioned the Japanese symbol on the Poundland Pepco pants, Nicola was horrified to discover it meant "pussycat.".

The disgusted parent said: "It's got no place on children's knickers. I think there are sexual connotations to it. It's not even the proper name for cat, it's the slang name. "I can't see any reason why they should be on girls' knickers. It's completely inappropriate. "The idea that that's printed on the front of knickers for children turns my stomach.". Nicola, from Cannock, Staffordshire, had previously purchased a set of knickers from the budget store with a different design after her daughter said they were comfortable.

Thinking of her pre-teen, she popped another set of gingham pants in her shopping basket only to be "gobsmacked" at the ill-suited design. The 40-year-old added: "So I put into Google Translate and Google Lens and it said that the symbol on the front of her knickers is the slang term for a cat. "In other words, it's 'pussy, puss, moggy', something like that.". "If the pants had anything to do with cats, like pictures of cats or something like that it would be fine but there's no correlation as to why this symbol should be on there, especially on children's pants.

"I was absolutely gobsmacked.". The children's underwear goes all the way down to ages three to four are sold as part of the store's Japanese-themed cat range. Nicola believes they must have been incorrectly processed. With the phrase "pussycat" translated from both Chinese and Japanese emblazoned on the front, she urged the garment be pulled off the Poundland shelves immediately. The British variety store said while they were sold as part of their cat range, they "understand why" Nicola complained and apologised.

Poundland declared a full underwear investigation was underway. However, when the appalled shopper returned to the shop a few days later shocked to discover the item was still stocked. Nicola continued: "It seemed like they weren't taking this seriously at all. "I went into the store days after complaining and they were still selling them.". "The fact that these are on girls' knickers is baffling. "How it was able to get through production, I can't get my head around how it managed to get through and to sale.".

The outraged mum is so alarmed by the design she can't believe how they made their way into the store at all. Nicola said: "They should be recalled. "I truly believe that Poundland didn't know and there was a problem in manufacturing but that it has been missed somewhere along the line. "I don't think they've done it intentionally.". A Poundland spokesman said: "While these are part of a wider Japanese-themed cat range that includes socks and vests, we understand why Nicola questioned one item out of the context of the whole range.