They may be unwelcome to many, but the notorious vuvuzela is selling well in Britain’s third-largest supermarket chain.

Sainsbury’s said yesterday that World Cup memorabilia, in particular the plastic vuvuzela horn, were all showing strong sales in spite of the slow group sales seen over the first quarter of 2010.

In a trading update, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Justin King called the vuvuzela horn ‘the must have item’ for any true football fan. The group says that it has already sold over 40,000 of the vuvuzelas with English branding at a cost of just £2 each. It is forecasting this number to double by the end of the tournament, with the number potentially becoming greater should England embark on a run to the semi-finals or further.

Anyone who has watched the opening games of the World Cup can attest that the monotone drone of the vuvuzela has become the soundtrack to the tournament, something which has irritated television broadcasters who complain that the noise drowns out the commentary and action. Some players have also used the horns as an excuse for claiming they could not hear the ref’s whistle, although the Greek team has taken to inviting vuvuzela groups to play at training to customize themselves to match day conditions.