South Africa is recalling 1.35 million condoms given away at the African National Congress's centenary celebrations in January after some broke during intercourse and others leaked.

Sello Mokhalipi of the Treatment Action Campaign, an Aids charity, said: "We had people flocking in to report the condoms had burst."

Some were panicking because they were infected with Aids and were concerned for their partners, he said.

A spokesman for the health department of Free State province, which distributed the condoms, said they had recalled the entire batch. "We poured water into the condoms and they were leaking like a sieve," he said.