The Co-op has admitted making an awkward spelling mistake on a sign at one of its South Hams stores.

The retailer confessed to accidentally misspelling the word “prosecuted” on a notice at its petrol station in Kingsbridge.

The mistake was spotted by eagle-eyed Mario Parnow while he was filling up at the Ilbert Road forecourt.

Mario shared a photo of the sign in a local Facebook group and dozens of people responded to the amusing post.

He wrote: “Spelling error at the local Co-op in Kingsbridge...Can you spot it?”

One user replied: “Someone didn’t use spellchecker!”

Another said: “Oh no. That is just terrible.”

But not everyone found the post amusing.

One person replied: “Who cares? It’s obviously a deterrent, no need for the analysis.”

Mario said he was visiting a friend in the town when he spotted the awkward error.

He says he was in “disbelief” when he saw the mistake, thinking he needed a new prescription.

“The first error was the misspelling of prosecuted,” he said.

“But someone on the Salcombe and Kingsbridge Noticeboard referred to the beginning of the sentence - do the police really notice the 24hr CCTV in operation?

“Others clearly gifted in punctuation also spotted the capital letters after the commas.”

The Co-op has since apologised for the awkward mistake.

A spokeswoman said: “We hold our hands up that we’ve failed to accurately spell out the punishment.

“However, drivers should always pay for their fuel.”