Bosses at Sainsbury's, in Stratford Road, Shirley, want to sell crooked vegetables at 40 per cent cheaper than normal "standard" vegetables.

Instead the wobbly carrots, under-sized cauliflowers and bendy cucumbers, which are all entirely safe to eat, have to be binned because they do not conform to European Union regulations.

The 20-year-old rules state that it is illegal to sell wonky fruit and vegetables, including cauliflowers less than 11cm in diameter, carrots that are forked with more than one root or onions that have less than a third of their skins intact.

Mark Hankin, manager at the Shirley store, said he was outraged when he discovered he could face a criminal record if he sold the misshapen vegetables.