It would have been the easiest Christmas dinner you'd have ever prepared if you'd managed to get your hands on Heinz short-run seasonal launch this year.

The food manufacturer is well known for their range of hearty soups (and of course, baked beans), but usually in slightly more staid and predictable flavours than one that captures a full turkey and all the trimmings lunch in a can.

The soup - a hearty mixture of turkey, pigs in blankets, Brussels sprouts, stuffing balls and potatoes, with a gravy and cranberry sauce, certainly appealed to the festive fare loving public though.

Priced at only £1.50 and with just 500 cans produced, eager eaters depleted all the stock just hours after it went on sale on November 1.

Heinz hinted that they would produce greater numbers of the soup next year if it proved to be a hit, so keep your eyes peeled in the run up to Christmas 2022.

Anke von Hanstein, brand manager for Heinz Soups, said: “We are so excited for the lucky 500 people to try this sensational seasonal addition to Heinz’s Big Soup family.

“It is made for those with a big love for hearty festive flavours and tastes just perfect with a slice of warm crusty bread. Any soup that includes pigs in blankets and roasties is a winner in our eyes.

“And if these lucky few who managed to get their hands on it love it as much as we do, Heinz Christmas Dinner Big Soup might be back next year, bigger and better. Watch this space.”

The question is of course, would you have Christmas dinner flavour soup as a starter to your Christmas turkey meal, or is that an overkill even for the most ardent of fans of traditional yuletide feasting?