SOME Sainsbury's shoppers have found a wine called Fat B*stard too rude to stomach.

But bosses claim it's a best seller and have refused to take it off the shelves. The Stratton St Margaret superstore began stocking the white Chardonnay three weeks ago.

Since then duty manager Stephen Chamberlain has received several of complaints from offended customers but statistics show it to be more popular than any other wine in store.

He said: "We have been selling about 140 bottles of Fat B*stard a week compared to about 50 of any other brand."

He stressed that Sainsbury's had not intended to cause any offence and had taken steps to minimise the risk of doing so. Shelf signs which usually show the product's full name and price have been shortened to read "fat".

Mr Chamberlain said: "It is impossible to please all of the people all the time. We have vegetarians complaining that we sell meat and non-smokers unhappy that we sell cigarettes. This is just another example."

One customer complained that her child had read the label. However it seems that most are buying up stocks so quickly that Mr Chamberlain has had to make a special order to keep up with demand.

It is so popular the winemakers have developed a Fat B*stard fan club. Sainsbury's wine suppliers said the name was borne out of an attempt to reproduce a classic French wine called Batard Montrachet.

They claim the extra meaning came with the English translation. Threshers, Oddbins, Bottoms Up and the Wine Rack have been stocking it for months.