Critics, however, suggest all mascot places should be handed out for free in line with the majority of other top-tier clubs, most of whom require mascots to be club members.

“I had no idea it’s so pricey in some clubs, and there is such a disparity,” said Dame Caroline. “This is a dream for so many children.”

Public Accounts Commission chairman Clive Efford MP added: “Pricing working-class families out of ever being a mascot like this is pure greed. Considering the millions Premier League clubs get each year from TV deals, how can they justify charging for what for many is a childhood dream? They should be ashamed.”

The Forest pricing structure is out of kilter with the general matchday experience at the City Ground. Recent research ranked the stadium as the second cheapest top-tier home ground, with the lowest average taxi fares and season tickets starting from £550.

The club also offers the cheapest stadium pies at just £3.30. Yet the top mascot package costs more than the average monthly rent in Nottingham for a three-bedroom house, which is £1,373.

Gerry Sutcliffe, the former sports minister, said he “cannot believe those charges for mascots at games”.

“Squeezing every last penny from supporters and complete disregard for supporters who can’t afford to pay such expensive prices,” he said. “It adds already to overpriced tickets to games at kick-off times that don’t help fans. It has become a game for the elite and corporate crowd. Hope that the football regulator can intervene.”

Other clubs take dramatically different approaches. In the lower tiers, Tranmere Rovers, for example, have a policy in which all young fans who purchased kit had an automatic chance to appear on the pitch for free.

Criticism of mascot prices comes at a sensitive time for the Premier League, which is opposed to the incoming regulator recently scrutinised in the House of Lords ahead of implementation. Reflecting on mascot prices, Couper said: “This is why Fair Game wants to Build a Fairer Future for Football where fans of all clubs are not being exploited.”