A RETIRED man from Taunton says he was 'flabbergasted' when Facbook banned him after he posted 'I like faggots' on a discussion about favourite childhood foods.

Robert Wilkes, 54, tried to log on to Facebook the day after the post and was greeted with a message from the social networking giant saying he was temporarily banned for 12 hours.

Faggots, which are usually made from butchers' off-cuts minced together with onion and breadcrumbs, is an offensive slang term in the United States for gay men.

Robert, who is now back online, said the ordeal is 'political correctness gone stir crazy mad'.

He said: “At first, I was disillusioned and could not understand why I was banned - I was flabbergasted.

“We are not in the USA and the English language is different over here.”

Robert has lived in Taunton for 30 years after moving from the West Midlands and worked as a dog handler at the Ministry of Justice.

He said he posted the comment on a discussion with friends where they were re-living their favourite childhood dishes Robert, who lives with his wife Tracy, said he has been lost for words over Facebook's decision to temporarily ban him from their site.

He added: “Facebook annoys me because it allows things that should not be on there yet something innocuous like that you get banned for - it is beggars belief.”

A spokesman for Facebook said they would not comment on this particular matter but did say the word faggot is not explicity banned.

They said Facebook judges content at its face value and where they do not have sufficient context, they assume the most common reading.

Robert said he has asked Facebook, which boasts 1.2billion members across the globe, for an apology but is yet to receive one.