Tesco has been accused by a charity of misleading customers - by advertising its bread as freshly baked.

The Real Bread Campaign (RBC) claims the supermarket giant is in breach of trading standards and has lodged a formal complaint.

The RBC - part of the charity Sustain - has alleged that Tesco markets 'bakery' section products using claims including 'expertly baked in store since 1968', 'baking fresh from our ovens every day' and 'freshly baked throughout the day' on packaging, store displays and its website.

But the group claims it has found that Tesco uses such marketing at stores where no bread is freshly baked from scratch on site, at which baking expertise is not required, and that did not exist in 1968.

The RBC has complained to Hertfordshire County Council, the local authority which regulates Tesco.

In response, Tesco said it is "proud" of staff who "freshly bake great quality, affordable bread" and that its advertising has been agreed with trading standards.

Chris Young, the RBC's co-ordinator, said he was "saddened" by Tesco's "audacity".

He alleged: "Over a number of years, Tesco has been shutting down in-store bakeries and making skilled baker roles redundant, replacing fresh bread making with staff members loading pre-made products into loaf tanning salons.

"We're saddened by the company's audacity in telling shoppers that things are being expertly, freshly baked and amazed that they've been allowed to continue making such claims.

He added: "To be clear, this complaint is not that Tesco is making cheap products widely available.

"It is about how the company is marketing them."

A Tesco spokesperson said: "We're proud of our colleagues who freshly bake great quality, affordable bread in hundreds of our stores - and have done so since we opened our first in-store bakery in 1968.

"In some stores where we don't have the space to bake everything from scratch, we work closely with our bakery suppliers who prepare dough for us that trained colleagues bake every day in store.

"The signage we use in each individual store reflects the different ways we prepare bread, and our approach has been agreed with our Trading Standards Primary Authority."

Hertfordshire County Council added: "We have recently become aware of the issues raised and are looking into the matter."

The RBC also currently has complaints lodged with other popular supermarkets in Britain over its bread.