A Jewish shopper was left bemused by a range of bath towels resembling Jewish prayer shawls on display at an Ikea branch. 

Saul Freeman, 54, was with his son when he spotted the towels at the furniture giant’s Sheffield branch on Tuesday.

The cloths, available in different sizes and priced from £2.25, were inspired by Hamam towels originally used in Turkish baths, according to online listings for the items.

The shopper said he found the resemblance amusing and that he bought a towel at his son’s urging as a “humorous purchase”. 

“My angle on this is one of humour not outrage, though I can see that some people might find this more problematic,” he told the JC.

Mr Freeman, who runs a Twitter account dedicated to combating antisemitism, took to social media on Tuesday to share a picture of the towel. 

But reactions were mixed, with some online users suggesting the similarity to tallit was coincidental.

An IKEA spokesperson said the "inspiration for colour palette for the SIESJÖN bath towel was the seaside, where white and blue were chosen to create a nautical beach feel, and the striped design and fringes were inspired by Turkish hammam towels.

"We would like to apologise if we have offended anyone, it was not our intention.”