Boxes of fake condoms have been discovered in UK pharmacies and shops leading to a recall of some Durex products yesterday. The bogus condoms - 10 times more unreliable than the international standard - have appeared in fake Durex packaging.

Thousands of the "convincing" counterfeits were first discovered in the Republic of Ireland and reported by the Irish Medicines Board.

Three complaints were made in England about empty foil packets and the remaining condoms in these boxes were tested and found to be fake. Yesterday Durex launched a nationwide appeal to track down the risky prophylactics.

Chris Bunniss, marketing director of Durex, said it was thought that the condoms had come from China.

"They are a very good match," he said. "The condoms are substandard but the packaging is very convincing." The counterfeit condoms were found to have more holes than the international standard allows.

Certain batches of Durex condoms have been recalled including Durex Extra Safe 12 pack batch number 20602503 and Durex Fetherlite 12 pack batch number VR3073C.

The recall is being carried out with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, with an appeal to consumers, pharmacists, shops and family planning clinics.

Durex said anyone who had bought the fake condoms could return them and receive a full refund or exchange. Durex tested 350 fakes and eight failed the international standard tests. At 2.5%, this was 10 times the accepted failure rate.