A vicar was so incensed to see Playboy stationary stacked on a shop shelf next to children'
s merchandise that he decided to take direct action, and pulled down the display.

The Reverend Nutter Tim Jones said the pornography empire deliberately aims the bright pink pencil cases and note books, branded with the distinctive bunny logo, at young girls.

So, he decided to take a stand and threw the offending merchandise from shelves in the York branch of Stationery Box, after getting the full backing of the store manager.

Rev Jones said: "I told the assistant manager, who was on duty, I was going to be launching a protest at the shop, and I went over to where the Playboy material was on the shelf alongside the Winnie The Pooh and Mickey Mouse items.

I started tossing it on the floor away from where people were. I also encouraged customers to sign a petition against the intrusion of commercial brands such as Playboy into goods and services targeting children.

The long-term intention of their strategy is to encourage children to see the Playboy bunny as a friendly brand appropriate for children, preparing them for early commercial acceptance of Playboy pornographic merchandise.

This constitutes a kind of institutional grooming of children for their commercial exploitation by the powerful sex industry. It is indirect but not accidental. It is deliberate, intentional, cynical and wicked and must be resisted.

Rev Jones has persuaded staff at the Stationery Box branch to remove the entire Playboy range pending a "merchandising review".

Playboy has said it will review how its products are sold in the UK after one retailer placed its branded stationery near merchandise for children.

The shop display prompted an angry reaction from the Reverend Tim Jones, who pulled it down and complained the firm was selling directly to children.

Jones says his protest at a branch of Stationary Box in York was prompted by anger at finding Playboy goods next to items bearing pictures of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. He said it was "wicked" to groom children for their commercial exploitation by the sex industry.

Playboy Enterprises said goods bearing its famous bunny logo were aimed primarily at 18 to 34 year olds.

Playboy said it was surprised the goods were inappropriately positioned. We will be reviewing this situation immediately.

By making their brand acceptable they're making everything they do acceptable, including the pornography they promote through their TV channels, said Beatriz Concejo from the pressure group Object: They are normalising pornography by making their brand a household name.