Deputy PM causes croquet mania

John Prescott may be a more likely ambassador for bacon butties and HP sauce than croquet, the sport that speaks of summer lawns and stately homes.

But the Deputy Prime Minister, who was pictured wielding a wooden mallet as he prepared to take charge of the country last week, appears to have been unexpectedly effective in his new role.

As he contemplated life without Dorneywood, the grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire house he has had to give up, Asda announced yesterday that sales of its garden croquet sets had soared by 300 per cent. The country's second biggest supermarket chain, revealed that 6,000 shoppers had bought its £9.87 and £2.96 garden kits, up from 2,000 in the corresponding week last year.

"People have seen Prescott pegging-out and have thought, 'If he can do it, so can we,' " a spokesman said. "The weather this week has been horrid compared with the same week last year, so it is not just people thinking about spending time in the garden."

It is unlikely that the set, which includes four mallets, four coloured balls, two wooden stakes and 10 hoops, featured in Pauline Prescott's trolley as she left Asda on Wednesday, laden with shopping.

But calls to the Croquet Association's inquiries line increased by half after the Dorneywood match and Harrods also reported an increase in sales of sets.

Bernard Neal, the president of the association, the governing body of croquet in Britain, said he was grateful to Mr Prescott for the unexpected publicity.