Ann Summers has been accused of hitting a "new low" after posting an erotic Fifty Shades of Grey display in the window of its Canterbury store.

The lingerie firm – which has a shop facing the busy Build-A-Bear Workshop in Whitefriars shopping precinct – has put up raunchy 6ft photographs of a woman exposing almost all of her breasts, another in a basque clutching a whip and a handcuffed near-naked man.

The display is based on E.L. James’s tale of bondage and fetish sex, with a film version of the graphic novel hitting cinema screens last month.

Family values group Media-watch-UK has described the shop’s effort to cash in on the hype surrounding its release as “a new low for Ann Summers”.

Vivienne Pattison, director of the Ashford-based group, said: “It’s totally inappropriate for a public place and especially one so near Build-A-Bear and a place frequented by children and teenagers.

“The image shows bare breasts with nipple tassels on them. Any child passing this image will be subject to its overt sexual messaging and imagery.

“Government guidelines for retailers in the Bailey Review state that sexualised images should not be displayed in children’s eyeline.

“This is all part of the increasing sexualisation of popular culture. By putting it on a busy street like this, it is going directly into people’s eyes.

“We are not prudes, but we are extremely concerned with what children are exposed to.

“This is all about mainstreaming extreme sexuality and is a new low for Ann Summers.”

Ann Summers’ outlets in Sutton and Wimbledon have already taken the displays down following local opposition.

But the firm has defended its displays. Spokesman Kyrsty Hazell-Page said: “We always carefully consider every window display and how it will be interpreted by both our customers and the general public.

“We are not prudes, but we are extremely concerned with what children are exposed to..." - Vivienne Pattison, Media-watch-UK

“As a responsible retailer, we like to strike an appropriate balance of on-brand communications and responsible marketing.

“As with any of our window campaigns, it is not our intention to cause offence.

“However, we feel our latest campaign portrays a positive message to our customers as it empowers and encourages them to look and feel sexually confident.

“At all times we value our customers and the public’s opinions and strive to achieve the right balance for satisfying both.”

E.L. James, who studied history at Kent University in the 1980s, published Fifty Shades of Grey in 2011.

Mediawatch-UK argues it glamorises and legitimises domestic and sexual violence.

Ms Pattison added: “Sexual violence and sexual exploitation are at an all-time high, permeating our culture by way of hardcore pornography.

“This film further legitimises them despite the fact that making violence sexy has significant consequences to individuals, relationships and society.

“The extended trailer for the film calls it a fairytale. This is a misleading description which suggests a simple love story and masks the film’s true themes of humiliation, manipulation, abuse and degradation of women.”