The government is set to back down on its plans to ban the giving of goldfish as prizes at fairgrounds ahead of the general election.

Amid fears that the move would cement Labour's "nanny state" reputation, the environment secretary is expected to amend the Animal Welfare Bill so that the creatures can only be given to children accompanied by an adult.

"Our concern was that it was just nanny state stuff, but we agreed with [Margaret Beckett's] plan that fair owners can't hand goldfish over to an eight-year-old," a minister tells the FT.