UK firm rapped for ‘ludicrous’ lingerie

British retail store Marks and Spencer has been criticised for selling a bra that can be worn for just eight hours. The 20 pounds stick-on strapless bra, which has been marketed as "ideal for wearing with strapless or backless dresses and tops", has a manufacturer's tag indicating it should not be worn for more than the stipulated period.

The warning is due to the silicone content of the bra, which gives it its grip but can also irritate the skin of some wearers.

On the Marks & Spencer website the stick-on bra is praised for its 'smoothly moulded cups' which 'look invisible under clothes and give secure support'. It also added that the bra, which is 100 per cent polyester, has a silicone edge.

"Any customers who experience discomfort or an adverse reaction should discontinue wearing it. We recommend that you do not wear for more than 8 hours at a time," the Telegraph quoted a statement on its website as stating. But the concept has been found to be ludicrous by housewife Shirley Moss of Maidstone, Kent.

"It's usually about 12 hours at least before I take a bra off each day. So 4pm, wherever I am, in the supermarket, I have to strip off, it's ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous," she said.

"It's no use to me at all," she firther added. But a spokesman for M and S said the message was a precautionary warning. "We have received a very small number of complaints from women who have found the silicone in some of our bras uncomfortable," he said.