Many a talk show will tell you that kids are growing up too fast these days, with little girls dressing “sexy”, and “Brat” dolls that might be borderline inappropriate for children. But the latest offering from clothing manufacturer Abercrombie and Fitch takes this creepy trend to a whole new level.

Its “Ashley” bikini, described as “padded” and a “push-up”, was posted on the store’s kids section of their website last week and has unleashed a storm of controversy. Since Saturday, however, the description has been changed to “striped triangle”.

Rebecca Odes from parenting blog Babble said: “Playing at sexy is an inevitable and important part of growing up. But there’s a difference between exploring these ideas on your own and having them sold to you in a children’s catalog.”

All I can say is that paedos everywhere must love Abercrombie. Who thought that this was a good idea in the first place?