Mother outraged over teddy bears with 'totally inappropriate detailing' on girl's christening cake

A mother is demanding a refund for a christening cake featuring teddy bears with what she says is "totally inappropriate" detailing. Sharon Green, 45, from Standish, Greater Manchester, says she was horrified when she picked up the cake for her three-year-old daughter Tahlia Rose's christening and saw that they had "creases" that makes the teddies look like they have female genitals. Mrs Green complained to the firm and demanded a refund, but she has not been given her money back. Occasion Cakes, which has branches in Bolton and Wigan, said the creases represent the seam where the bears have been "sewn together".



Steve and Angela Howarth, who run the company, claim Mrs Green has made a "bizarre and distasteful" connection. Mrs Green ordered the cake in January from the Wigan branch, paying about £60, and she says the creases were not on the original display model she chose. She picked up the cake two days before the christening, on June 14, and she only looked at it the following day. Mrs Green said: "I was shocked - I just presumed it would be okay, and the same as what I ordered." When she took it back to the shop, an assistant gave her some flowers to preserve the teddie's modesty, but Mrs Green was not able to stick them down.



She said guests at the christening kept moving the flowers and poking fun at the cake. Mrs Green said: "This was not the cake I ordered - the display model definitely didn't have these creases on it. It is completely inappropriate. The cake is supposed to be for a three-year-old girl. It is not just me who thought this, it was a talking point at the christening - everyone was commenting on it." In a statement, a spokesman for the firm, which has been established for 30 years, said it had made efforts to address the complaint. He added that all cakes are handmade, so there may be slight variations from display models and completed cakes.



The spokesman said: "The small bears are exactly that - teddy bears - and the creases on the stomach are supposed to represent the seam where the bears are sewn together. We have been making girl and boy teddies this way for 30 years and no-one has ever drawn such a bizarre, and, quite frankly, distasteful, connection. Also we made every effort to sort out this customer’s ‘problem’. A member of our staff at the Wigan shop even came back after closing for the night to give her edible flowers to put on the cake to cover up that part of the teddy ornaments." Mrs Green and her husband Chris, said they did not eat the cake as they were still hoping to claim a refund. Instead, the guests enjoyed strawberry gateau and profiteroles.