A shop which is selling a toy featuring a man being executed in an electric chair has been criticised by anti-death penalty campaigners.

The Death Row Marv toy has been imported from North America and is now being sold in three Hive shops in Sussex.

It has been seen at branches of the store in Brighton, Worthing and Eastbourne and is selling at £19.95 a time.

But the toy has sparked fury among human rights groups who say it will shock youngsters.

The battery-operated toy features a man strapped to an electric chair.

A button can be pressed which makes him writhe in the chair as if being electrocuted.

Amnesty International has criticised the manufacturers of the toy, which is recommended for people aged 13 and over.

Paul Neal, who co-owns Hive, said: "They have been selling very well, I think we have shifted about 300 of them.

"It isn't aimed at young children but just people who are interested in adult graphic novels where Death Row Marv was first featured.

"Despite the fact I don't agree with capital punishment it has been approved by a democratically elected Government in America.

"You can't blame the toy company for it. It's not like a person being tortured in Cambodia or anything."

Death Row Marv has been produced by McFarlane Toys which also made merchandise to coincide with the recent re-release of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine film.

Gary Callaghan, spokesman for Amnesty International in the South East, said: "Clearly people that die in the electric chair die in agony.

"Perhaps only in the USA, which executes more juvenile offenders than any other country in the world, would an electric chair 'toy' be thought appropriate for children."