Sainsbury’s takes down cream tea advert in Cornwall after complaints

‘Our afternoon tea has all scone wrong in Truro!’ says supermarket

Sainsbury’s has taken down an advert in a branch in Cornwall that showed scones with cream, followed by jam, on them after outraged residents complained (Getty)

Sainsbury’s has taken down an advert featuring scones with cream and jam in Cornwall after local customers made furious complaints.

The advert was spotted in the baked goods section of the Sainsbury’s branch in Truro, and showed fruit scones topped with cream, followed by jam.

In Cornwall, it is traditional to put jam on a plain scone first, followed by cream. Fruit scones are usually eaten only with butter.

A photo of the offending advert was posted on Facebook by Andrea Drosiadis, who runs a Mediterranean deli in Cornish city, with the caption: “How did this happen?”

He told local newspaper Cornwall Live: “England is a country with strong local traditions that shape our everyday life. ‘Jam first’ is a characteristic example of this and Sainsbury’s should have known better.”

Angry Cornish residents called the signage “disgraceful”, with some even going so far as to call for a boycott of the supermarket.

One person commented: “That’s a fruit scone - needs butter only. Jam and cream goes on a plain scone or a split!”

Another added: “They seriously need to have a word with themselves and sort it out! Help, Cornish staff needed urgently.”

In response to a tweet by Cornwall Live asking Sainsbury’s to explain itself, a spokesperson for the supermarket replied: “An imposter! Which store did you see this please? We’ll have a word with them about this blasphemy!”

They added after learning the location of the advert that caused outrage: “That’ll never do at all Truro! I’ve logged some feedback to the manager of the store to ensure they are made aware of this imposter and repair it accordingly.”

According to reports, the image was removed from the store’s wall on Thursday.

Sainsbury’s said in a statement: “Our afternoon tea has all scone wrong in Truro! We are reviewing the customer feedback we have received.”