It would appear a village high street shop has diversified and started selling people, and for the bargain price of £3.99.

On an A-board outside Trussell’s Butchers on London Road in Knebworth it reads: “Local peasants £3.99 each. Shot at dawn!”

But you’d be disappointed if you thought you could buy a member of a traditional class of farmers from the Middle Ages. If you step inside and ask for a peasant, you’ll leave with a game bird tucked under your arm.

Shop owner Paul Elleston said: “We have done it deliberately. We are not that backward. We have had people stopping their cars and taking photos.”