A recent promotion for Pink Lady apples by UK food retailer Morrisons has reportedly seen sales of the branded fruit reach record-breaking levels.

According to the grocer, shoppers rushed to take advantage of its special offer, which saw more than 9m individual Pink Lady apples sold during a three-week campaign between 25 June and 15 July.

Bags of the apples were sold at half price (£1, €1.26), which apparently encouraged existing fans of the fruit to increase the amount they bought while also attracting other customers to try Pink Lady for the first time.

Glenn Bewley, responsible for buying Pink Lady apples on behalf of Morrisons, said the investment in promoting the club variety had been worthwhile.

"The Morrisons deal has been heavily promoted via radio and television adverts and the investment has clearly paid off," he said.

"Over 3.9m Pink Lady® apples were sold in a single week, demonstrating that customers have really enjoyed this great value offer."

He added: "The added bonus is that this deal has encouraged more shoppers to buy fresh fruit than they might normally have considered which can only be a good thing."