DESPITE the credit crunch, shoppers can still enjoy some gourmet dining for under a fiver.

Hard-up families are making a beeline to supermarket budget chain Lidl to snap up a lobster for just £4.99.

The luxurious crustaceans normally cost double that — and a 400g lobster costs £35 at top London store Fortnum & Mason.

German-owned Lidl, which has stores in Torquay, Paignton, Newton Abbot and Dartmouth, says its bargain pre-cooked and frozen wild Canadian lobsters are flying of the shelves.

The store bought up 350,000 of the 375g shellfish, caught in the North West Atlantic.

Marketing manager Marco Ivone said people are 'going crazy' for the cheap lobster, adding: "They are very popular."

More people have been shopping in the budget store during the last few cash-strapped months, he said.

"We don't have lots of staff or lots of lines, we keep things as simple as we can and pass on the savings to our customers," he added.

Lidl's low-cost lobsters have sparked a price war on the gourmet crustaceans. Tesco has launched its own half-price promotion on frozen lobsters, offering them for just £6.