A 40-year-old businessman, who goes only by the name of Graham, sells made-to-order sex dolls which can be designed to look like a partner, crush or celebrity.

Lovedoll UK say clients can pay £100 for a plastic partner before forking out £2,000 if they want to buy the product.

The business is on an industrial estate in Felling, Gateshead.

Graham says it is not just men who are interested and that many of his customers are women who make purchases in a bid to keep their husbands from cheating.

He added: "I always knew that sex dolls were going to be normalised.

“Some men keep them for 24 hours and sell them straight back but some might keep them for ten years and get married to them.

“A lot of wives buy them for their men to try to stop them cheating or to spice up their sex lives.

“People are falling in love with these dolls, but really they are falling in love with themselves.

“A lot of the time it is more fantasy than reality and they give them a personality which they fall in love with, which is often similar to their own.

“People might criticise the concept, but if anything, this is a celebration of women."