Fray Bentos have finally admitted that the amount of meat in their pies has dropped after droves of furious customers complained online.

The iconic tinned pies, which come in a number of flavours, have all been criticised for being 'no filling all pastry' by hungry customers - because they are less chunky than normal

Disappointed consumers even claimed 'deep fill' pies were lacking substance - despite the company vowing the recipe hasn't changed

But manufacturers Baxters have now conceded there is less filling in the budget meals - despite previously claming they still had 'the same great taste'

A spokeswoman said: "Inflationary pressures for commodities made it essential to review the product formulations in 2017.

"Customer feedback has been that maintaining a competitive price point has been important to them. As a result, some meat percentages were reduced in line with competitor products during 2017.

"We are continually monitoring feedback as a result of any product changes."

Horrified meat-eaters took to consumer website A Spokesman Said to criticise the meatless treats, claiming they were lacking in meat and had 'very nasty fat'.

Even the piemaker's puddings came under fire from angry customers, who claimed they were also lacking meat.

Catherine Holden said: "I bought two meaty puds, was really looking forward to them, what a let down.

"The suet was really thick and heavy, I know it can't be like homemade but where was the meat?

"I had a few very small pieces of kidney and the rest was just gravy with some very small bits except for the large piece of very nasty fat.

"Apart from that, the flavour was nice."

One disgusted pie-lover said the pies were 'mostly slop' and 'terrible, with one containing just two lumps of meat.

The 24-year-old man said: "You get what you pay for, they are really cheap.

"The deep fill steak pie came out of it well, with the most meat, but the regular steak and kidney and just chicken pies were terrible.

"The chicken and bacon one was the worst - it was just two solid lumps of meat, all stuck to one side.

"There was a distinct lack of chicken, it was mostly just slop.

"There was no discernible presence of meat at all, but it looked like there'd been a pigs ear chopped up and stuck in there.

"None of them had enough meat in them but it wasn't too fatty or tough, just a bit tasteless."