Scottish Gaelic was used instead of Welsh signage in a mid-Wales Co-op.

Shoppers were surprised to notice the cards section of the Machynlleth Co-operative store was catering to a more northern audience than usual this week.

The cards section of the shop had four signs, each stating ‘Cairtean is Pasgadh’, ‘Cards and Wrapping’ instead of the Welsh ‘Cardiau a Lapio’.

Spotted by a keen-eyed local, they commented on whether this signage was simply a mistake or whether they “win a prize” for the observation.

Another said that one upside to the presumed mistake is that the Welsh language may now be being promoted in the Outer Hebrides.

Others blamed it on “bad management”, with one claiming they spotted the same Scottish Gaelic signs in a Co-op in Llanelwedd.

One said it was likely Co-op HQ simply couldn’t tell the difference between the different Celtic languages, reading them as “generic gobbledigook”.

It comes only shortly after that particular branch had a refurbishment.

However embarrassing the mistake may be for the firm, staff haven’t taken down the four incorrect signs after being made aware of them.

This isn’t the first time Scottish Gaelic was used instead of Welsh in a Co-operative - eleven years ago in 2014 a branch in Caerphilly hit headlines for labelling multiple aisles from pet food to quiche to magazines in Scottish Gaelic, again after an expensive refurbishment.

A Co-op spokesperson said: “Co-op is proud to serve and support Welsh communities, with its history in Wales dating back to the 1800’s.

“We are committed to backing High Streets in towns, villages and cities across Wales.

“We welcome the feedback, our teams are aware that the incorrect signage was installed by our contractors during a recent refresh of the store, and it will be corrected as quickly as possible.”