CHRISSIE HYNDE - HYNDE SLAMS BENETTON FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY

American singer CHRISSIE HYNDE has hit out at leading fashion retailer BENETTON over the wool it uses to manufacture its clothes.

The PRETENDERS star, who is an ardent animal rights campaigner, has attacked the company's chairman LUCIANO BENETTON for importing merino wool from Australia.

Her letter to the Benetton boss states: "I was deeply upset to learn from my friends at PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS (PETA) about the extreme suffering of merino lambs and sheep in the Australian wool industry.

"It saddens me to learn that Benetton, a company that I have always thought of as holding high standards of human and animal welfare, has refused to stop buying cruelly obtained Australian wool."

This is not the first time that Hynde has targeted a high street fashion retailer - she spent time in jail after joining PETA in storming the original GAP store in New York.