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Television adverts for furniture retailer MFI have become the fifth-most complained about this year, the UK advertising watchdog has revealed.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that 217 people had contacted them to complain that a series of five adverts showing domestic scenes in MFI showrooms were "offensive, shocking and disturbing".

Among the complainants was one individual who had been a victim of domestic violence who said the adverts were irresponsible and encouraged children to argue and fight with their parents.

In one of the offending adverts, a teenage girl returns home and engages in a shouting match with her parents, leading to the girl storming to her room before an MFI employee enters the shot and it is revealed the argument has taken place in a company showroom.

"At MFI there's everything from kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, so you'll feel right at home," an accompanying voiceover says.

While this advert drew the ire of consumers the ASA backed MFI claims that the ads had been intended to be viewed in an "exaggerated and humorous fashion".

However, the watchdog ruled that a separate ad in the series, featuring a woman slapping her husband after leaving the toilet seat up, should not be shown again.

A statement said that the ASA believed the advert could give viewers the "impression that aggression and violence enabled people in everyday life to get their own way".