A North Yorkshire shopkeeper has had a key piece of stock confiscated by North Yorkshire Police after it caused a string of complaints.

Jason Hadlow, owner of Simply Dutch at Leeming Bar, has been issued with a public order offence and will face a fine if he wants to reclaim the garden ornament.

Jason recently received a new range of garden furniture including a four feet penis-shaped obelisk which went on display in Simply Dutch’s window at the end of March.

Following complaints from local people, North Yorkshire Police visited the store, removed the offending ornament, worth in the region of £200, and issued Jason with a public order offence for ‘displaying a sign or item liable to cause harassment, alarm or distress.’

Jason must now pay £80 by Friday 9th April to retrieve the item from Northallerton Police Station, or could face court action. However, the entrepreneur, from Yarm, is refusing to back down stating that the phallus is in keeping with Simply Dutch’s quirky ethos and has even started a ‘Free Willy’ campaign in store and on Facebook.

Jason said: “The world is a crazy place and I'm sure the local constabulary has better things to do. It’s just another example of overzealous policing and I couldn’t believe they were serious. We might have had one or two complaints but most of the customers loved it as they know what Simply Dutch is like and the type of things we stock.

“We’ve had naked stone strippers, Roman and Greek-style statues, African pothouses and all sorts of other weird pieces of furniture in the window which haven’t caused such a stir. So I am a little shocked, to say the least, that an £80 ransom is being demanded for the phallus