CHARITY chiefs have apologised to customers after complaints about an offensive Golliwog doll for sale in a Glasgow shop.

The offensive rag doll was propped up in a yellow plastic toy chair in the window of Cancer Research UK's Victoria Road branch.

Locals reacted with disgust to the item, a type of doll long viewed as a demeaning, racist caricature of black people.

Fatima Uygun, of Govanhill Against Racism, said: "In this day and age when we should be seeing black people as equal to white people, something that represents the evil history of slavery should not be being sold in a shop today.

"At best it is complete ignorance of the history of black people and their barbaric oppression and at worst it is perpetuating the negative image of black people as lesser than white people.

"Govanhill is a multi-cultural area and these dolls have no place anywhere and certainly not here.

"Would they display horrible images of Jewish people?"

The doll has oversized lips, frizzy hair, paws instead of hands and feet and is wearing a black and white striped costume.

It was spotted by shoppers as part of the window display in the Govanhill charity shop.

Formerly a popular children’s toy, the Golliwog was used as a mascot from 1910 until 2001 by jam producers James Robertson & Sons.

It fell out of favour and began to be seen as a racist symbol.

Cancer Research UK spokeswoman Lisa Adams said: “We’d like to apologise for the offence this may have caused and thank the customer who brought this to our attention.

“The item has now been removed from the shop and will not be sold. It was never our intention to cause offence or distress.

“We greatly value all our customers and the contribution they make towards helping fund vital research to beat cancer sooner.

"Cancer Research UK would not be able to carry out any of its life saving work without the support of the community who both shop in our stores and who considerately make donations to them.”

In 2015 two Sauchiehall Street gift shops caused controversy when shoppers spotted both were selling golliwogs.

Management of shops Cards and Gifts, and Party refused to remove the dolls, despite an outcry.