A shopkeeper has been threatened with arrest for displaying a toddler's T-shirt with the word "sperm" on it.

Officers told Tim Price the garment - which bore the slogan "Winner of the egg and sperm race" - was offensive and would have to be removed from his window display.

But the force was last night accused of being heavy-handed after it emerged shops all over Brighton displaying T-shirts and other items with potentially offensive slogans had not had action taken against them.

Tim, 45, said: "Is sperm a swear word? We're a bit confused about what's offensive.

"It is just a bit of fun, cheeky fun. We aren't going out to try to offend anyone.

"It was for a laugh and that was the point and we thought Brighton people were up for this kind of thing."

Tim and his partner Soly Daneshmand, who have run clothes shop Ju-Ju in Gloucester Road, Brighton, for 11 years, have been told to cover up or face being locked up.

Meanwhile, the French Connection boutique in nearby East Street is displaying T-shirts bearing the slogan "FCUK Fashion".

Soly said of her T-shirts: "Brighton is the most eye-opening place you can come to and 99 per cent of our customers like them. Look at French Connection's FCUK. Everyone knew what that meant."

Under the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003, people caught swearing in public can be slapped with an on-the-spot £80 fine.

Police visited the couple after they received a complaint from a shopper who spotted T-shirts in the window of the corner store brandishing cheeky phrases thought up by Tim.

The T-shirts bear legends "mother sucker", "granny magnet", "I had my mum in stitches" and "I got more presents than Jesus".

Tim, who has worked in advertising, had the idea of creating baby T-shirts with cheeky slogans two years ago.

The £10 tops have developed a cult following among parents in their 30s who preferred them to more conventional designs.

Tim said: "I thought it would be a good idea to bring out a range of T-shirts for babies that appealed to parents who had grown up with punk, Monty Python and The Young Ones."

But the police didn't see the funny side and a female officer called at the shop in December.

Soly, 39, said: "She said sperm was an offensive word and said she would appreciate it if it was removed. She said having the T-shirts in the window is the same as swearing in public.

The couple decided to leave the clothes hanging in the window with handwritten notes hiding the offensive phrases.

But police were unhappy and have returned twice with further warnings.

A police spokeswoman said: "An officer has spoken to the staff at Ju-Ju and advised them to display some of the more controversial items within the store or cover offending words in order to prevent further complaints."

A survey by The Argus of nearby shop windows revealed a plethora of "offensive" goods.

In Cranbourne Street, a shop displayed a card detailing the pleasures of being spanked.

A shop in The Lanes displays an array of badges with rude messages, including "I'm not a whore, I'm just popular".