Pushy parents were compared to locusts after an Easter egg hunt turned into a shoving match at the US visitor centre of sweets company Pez.

Saturday's event in Orange, Connecticut, drew hundreds of people, some of whom ignored the rules and did not wait for the starting time.

Pez general manager Shawn Peterson told US TV station WFSB-TV that people "rushed the field and took everything".

Event organisers placed more than 9,000 eggs on three fields with the intention of having staggered start times for each age group. But Pez officials said parents did not wait.

Mr Peterson said the crowd was "kind of like locusts".

Pez in a statement apologised for "an unfortunate situation" and said the actions of a few turned the event into "a mess".

No injuries were reported.

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