The "Hampstead" hitting the national news this week is not our beautiful corner of north-west London, but rather a brand of gin (though the two may both feature in some of our lives).

Lidl has been forced to temporarily stop selling a version of its own brand Hampstead Gin after being sued by the maker of Hendrick’s gin, William Grant and Sons, which claims a trademark has been infringed.

The Hampstead bottle was redesigned in late 2020 and the supermarket chain is defending the case and claims there are “clear and obvious differences” between the trademarks.

But a court in Edinburgh has told Lidl to stop selling, temporarily, Hampstead Gin in its current guise.

Lord Clark noted Hampstead was now priced at £15.99 – with the original version having been sold in Lidl for just £9.99.

In his written judgment, he said: “I do consider that there is sufficient material, from the information put before me, to infer (for the purposes of a prima facie case) that there was a deliberate alteration of the get-up of the Hampstead product to seek to cause at least an association with Hendrick’s."

A Lidl spokesperson said: “Although naturally disappointed, we note the court’s decision and have closely adhered to the requirements outlined within the ruling.

“We continue to liaise directly with the parties involved and hope to reach a satisfactory resolution in due course.”