CUSTOMERS at a new hummus and pitta bar were shocked by the offer of a free condom with their food.

The unusual combination is being provided by takeaway Humpit which opened in North Street, Brighton, last month.

Each condom has the words “ready to Humpit” emblazoned on the side and founder Jonathan Phillips said the brand was looking at bringing out a hummus flavoured contraceptive.

The Brighton venue is Humpit’s seventh branch, with the company proving particularly popular with students.

Mr Phillips said: “The idea came about last Freshers’ week.

“We thought, ‘what do we give students that they might find useful and memorable’.

“From that we thought a condom is the thing to give.

“We have such a cheeky brand so we thought we would put the slogan on the side as well.”

So far the condoms are only available in the Brighton branch, which also has venues in Leeds, Sheffield and York.

Mr Phillips said: “Brighton is a quirky place and the people are great.

“People are quite laid back so we thought we could go all out and hand them out in the shop, so long as it’s not offensive, and people are loving it.”

Mr Phillips said he had ordered 10,000 of the condoms.

He added that if they placed a larger order next time they may be able to create their own flavour, with hummus being the obvious choice.

He said: “A lot of people have been asking for it actually.

“They told me and I thought it was genius.”

He also said he felt the location of the shop played a part in the initiative’s success.

Mr Phillips said: “It works for Brighton.

“I don’t know if we will put it in our other stores as other cities are more uptight.”