CHRISTMAS market organisers have been forced to apologise - after a trader was caught selling "distasteful" masks of convicted sex offender Rolf Harris.

The masks bearing the face of the disgraced entertainer were sold at a festive stall in Edinburgh but destroyed almost immediately after the blunder came to light. They were put on sale close to a children's carousel alongside masks of cartoon characters Gordon Ramsay and Johnny Depp.

Edinburgh councillor Norman Work was "shocked" when he spotted the masks before he reported them to the city's council chiefs.

Yesterday, organisers of Edinburgh's Christmas said the product had not been "authorised for sale" and was "removed with immediate effect".

In July, Rolf Harris was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault and jailed for almost six years.