TESCO has taken down a gory Halloween display featuring knives after complaints it was insensitive in the wake of the Colchester murders.

Staff at the supermarket in the Hythe, Colchester, put up a sign with “Keep Out” written in fake blood and knives and cleavers hanging down.

Marguerite Harrison, of Longridge, Colchester, said the display was inappropriate in light of the murders of James Attfield and Nahid Al-Manea.

They were both killed about a mile away from the store, Mr Attfield near Castle Park on March 29 and Nahid on the Salary Brook Trail on June 17. She said: “It just struckme as I walked into the shop – it is at children’s eye level.

“I don’t know if it is head office saying: ‘Put blood spattered knives on display.’ But if youwere a parent of someone who had been stabbed that imagery would strike you.

“The two knife murders were within a mile of that very store. It really struck me as distasteful.”

Mrs Harrison said she had alerted the store manager but was told she was the only person who had complained.

She said: “Should children be associating Halloween with knife culture?

“They are showing knife images for fun when they could be showing other images. Bring back cobwebs and wobbly eyeballs.

“Tesco has taken its eye off the ball.”

The display has been removed in the wake of the complaint.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We are sorry for any offence caused.

“We provide guidance on seasonal displays to help make sure they are appropriate."