Anger over Buckfast wine sold with Easter egg

The Buckfast package includes a 140g chocolate egg with a miniature 5cl Buckfast bottle as well as a lighter

An Easter egg package containing a notorious Devon monks' brew has been branded "highly irresponsible".

The package is being sold by an off-licence in Northern Ireland with a miniature 5cl Buckfast bottle.

Stewart Wilson, of Buckfast bottlers J Chandler, told BBC News it was nothing to do with the company, adding: "It's an unofficial product and we oppose the actions of the individual."

Off-licence D-Bees, in Lurgan, Co Armagh, was unavailable for comment.

Buckfast Tonic Wine has been made by Benedictine monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon for almost 100 years and is particularly popular in Scotland and Northern Ireland

"It's highly irresponsible given the nature of a confectionary product that's mainly given to children," added Mr Wilson.

He said the package, which also contains a branded lighter, was a "breach of trademark and we are taking measures to get the sale of the product stopped immediately.

"I have never known an Easter egg to be sold with a lighter so there are safety concerns as well," he added.

More on the Easter egg row, plus more Devon and Cornwall news

Buckfast Tonic Wine has been made by Benedictine monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon for almost 100 years and is particularly popular in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

D-Bees owner Derek Brennan, who has promoted novel "Bucky" products in the past, has said the idea grew out of the shop's "massively successful" Christmas and Valentine's hampers.

It has been reported he took 2,000 orders in 24 hours for the novelty egg.

'Commotion lotion'

A Scottish sheriff said last year there was a "very definite association between Buckfast and violence".

It has an alcohol content of 15% and the caffeine equivalent of about four coffees per 75cl bottle.

It is frequently linked to violence and anti-social behaviour and in Scotland has nicknames like "wreck the hoose juice" and "commotion lotion".

In 2015, the Scottish Prison Service found 43.4% of inmates had consumed Buckfast before their last offence, despite it accounting for less than 1% of total alcohol sales nationally.

No-one from the abbey was available for comment.