David Broughton may just be the UK's Mr Vuvuzela. Though the instrument (if it can be called that) has only now come to global prominence via the World Cup, Broughton has been quietly importing them since September. He has sold the plastic trumpets to fans of Bury, Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City, and has spoken to Premier League teams including Chelsea and Wolves about the possibility of their shops stocking them – and believes they will be a fans' favourite when the domestic football season begins again.

Broughton is based in Buckinghamshire and normally imports cameras, camcorders and phones. He has family and business connections in South Africa; when he heard about the popularity of the vuvuzela there he decided to see if it would work in the UK.

He admits there have been mixed results. At a game between Bury and Rotherham last season, the Bury fans used their vuvuzelas to overpower singing from their rivals. "The Rotherham fans didn't know what had hit them," says Broughton. He adds that they are also a useful way of drowning out swearing or obscene chanting. "You give it a blast and they can't be heard. I'd rather hear a vuvuzela than bad language."

Broughton has sold 10,000 vuvuzelas, which retail for £10. So great has been the demand during the World Cup that he has had to turn to a supplier from the Far East because his people in South Africa could not keep up. Today he sourced another 600,000, so don't think they won't be coming to a ground, pub or street near you.

But does he worry about the backlash? Broughton accepts that the sound of 60,000 of them blaring away constitutes a "racket", and that they probably aren't necessary at a packed Old Trafford or Anfield. However, he insists they could have a part to play in British football in smaller grounds, especially half-full ones. "If I was a professional footballer playing in front of a few thousand people I'd be glad of the vuvuzelas improving the atmosphere."

But doesn't he hate the sound of them? "No, they're fun and kids love them. Musicians can get three notes out of them." One Sheffield Wednesday fan did not sound convinced on a club message board: "If anyone sits near me with one of those next season it is being snapped over their head."