Parents joke about buying £872 John Lewis piano after watching Elton John Christmas advert

PARENTS are mocking John Lewis for flogging £872 pianos inspired by its £7million Elton John Christmas advert.

One shopper joked on Twitter that he would have to sell a kidney to be able to afford the pricey instruments which went on sale after the advert was finally unveiled yesterday.

This year's Christmas advert - called The Boy And The Piano - focuses on Elton John's life story and how the gift of a piano from his grandmother as a little boy helped make him the superstar he is today.

In previous years, John Lewis has sold cute cuddly toy versions of the adorable characters in its Christmas adverts for about £20, such as Moz the Monster, Buster the Boxer or Monty the Penguin.

Unsurprisingly there are no cuddly Elton Johns this year, with instead launching a range of Yahama pianos priced at £872, alongside a collection of £40 T-shirts.

But parents on Twitter have scoffed at the expensive range, with people wondering who would be able to afford this year's budget-smashing advert tie-ins.

One dad, Alex Fletcher, wrote: "Bloody hell. Am I supposed to get my a kids a grand piano now for Christmas.

"I’ll have to sell a kidney. I preferred it when it was a fluffy penguin toy. Cheers John Lewis."

Some parents pointed out that the range was ironically launched just before Children In Need, an annual telethon to raise money for underprivileged children in the UK and abroad, which is on tonight.

One said that only parents of children living in wealthy areas such as the Cotswolds, Berkshire, Surrey or Buckinghamshire would be able to afford the pricey instruments.