A 'doll mum' who owns 19 incredibly lifelike baby dolls says she was "horrified" when one of her models was dyed blue.
Tracy Wynne claims the dye from her brand new DFS sofa rubbed off on the 'skin' of one of her dolls.
After the couch was delivered in August last year, Tracy claims it developed a mechanical fault - and then the colour started to rub off.
When she sat her reborn doll named Emma on the sofa, she claims the doll developed blue patches all over her body, which look like 'bruises'.
She says the marks have led to her getting abuse in the street as strangers who believe the dolls are real assume she is harming them.
However, furniture giant DFS has said its product is not at fault.
Liverpool-based Tracy, 54, said: "Emma was sitting on the sofa with me watching TV and it was only later that I saw the blue patches. The sofa wasn’t wet or even damp, and I haven’t tried cleaning it with anything.
"I’ve followed the instructions from DFS perfectly.
"I was horrified when I saw the marks on Emma and tried to scrub them off, but they just won’t budge. I’ve scrubbed so hard that it’s actually taking the paint off her, which really upsets me."
The doll lover, who doesn't have children of her own, said the state of her doll has left her heartbroken.
She said: "My reborns are my babies. They're my family. Emma is completely ruined.
“I’ve been out in the pushchair with her and I’ve had horrible comments because she looks as though she is bruised. People actually think I’ve hurt her.
"I no longer take her out any more because I’m frightened of what people think of me.
“Quite aside from the emotional upset, I paid £500 for her. She no longer looks like a real little girl yet I can’t bring myself to get rid of her either as she is one of my children. It’s a really upsetting situation."
Tracy claims the sofa cost her £1665 and it has "caused problems right from the start".
"I wish I'd never bought it," she said.
Tracy has 19 reborn dolls in total: Josie, Corvin, Noah, Emma, Shaun, April, Poppy, Lucy, Tobias, Emily, Jacob, Sam, Aimee, Lily, Adam, Sally, Polly, Ella, Chloe. She also has two reborn pets named Bambi and Bubbles.
Responding to Tracy's claims, a DFS spokesman said: “At DFS, we take customer complaints extremely seriously. When Ms. Wynne contacted her local store to inform them of an issue with her recliner mechanism, we arranged a service visit and the problem was identified as a snapped central bar on the mechanism.
“We have ordered the necessary parts to enable us to fix it. Following a subsequent complaint from Ms. Wynne about dye transfer, we sent an experienced service upholsterer to examine the sofa.
“Upon completion of a professional rub test we demonstrated to Ms. Wynne that the sofa was not faulty, and no dye was transferring from the fabric.
"It’s possible that some dye could have transferred if the sofa was wet or if it was being cleaned with products that are not compatible with upholstery which is why we advise customers to follow the care and cleaning instructions on our website.”
