Supermarket giant Marks and Spencer has renamed its popular Midget Gems after a campaign by a disability academic. 

The retailer has changed the sweets to Mini Gems to avoid offending people with dwarfism. 

The campaign is being run by Dr Erin Pritchard, a lecturer in disability studies at Liverpool Hope University. 

The doctor, who has achondroplasia, has talked to supermarkets about changing the word 'midget' in their items. 

M&S is the first supermarket to make the change, with others including Tesco currently looking at the names of their products. 

An M&S spokesperson said: “We are committed to being an inclusive retailer – from how we support our colleagues, through to the products we offer and the way we market them to our 32 million customers.

“Following suggestions from our colleagues and the insights shared by Dr Erin Pritchard, we introduced new Mini Gem packaging last year, which has since been rolled out to all of our stores.”