A MAJOR supermarket chain has come under fire for selling eggs described as "Halloween Fun" on the packaging. Asda said it was selling them as part of drive to promote eggs, but has faced a barrage of complaints from shoppers who believe it will encourage the Halloween prank of "egging". Egging, which has become a growing problem in recent years, involves throwing them at people's homes and cars, as well as taxis, which are often targeted. Across Merseyside, the company was yesterday facing criticism for selling the packets of nine eggs, with customers calling for the special Halloween packs to be withdrawn. Wirral Council's executive member for community safety, Cllr George Davies, said he was disgusted at the marketing ploy which had backfired on the company. He said: "We are trying across Merseyside to teach young people about being responsible, showing respect and understanding to other people, and here they are almost saying 'here are the eggs - go and throw them at someone'. "I feel quite vehemently about this. We have a company the size of Asda being totally irresponsible in their efforts to sell this product. No thought has gone into the marketing." He said he hoped the company listened to the complaints and withdrew the packets. Yesterday, a senior Merseyside Police officer was in touch with the company's head office after learning of the sale of the Halloween eggs. A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said this time of year can be an exciting time for children and young teenagers but what they may think is innocent fun, can quickly turn into something more frightening for the elderly, and more vulnerable members of the community. The spokeswoman said: "The throwing of any missile can never be acceptable when it is designed to deface, damage or intimidate. There are no exceptions, and damage caused by eggs and flour still leaves the person responsible liable to a range of sanctions up to an arrest and conviction for criminal damage. If it happens to be 'mischief night', or part of a Halloween 'trick or treat' it makes no difference; if it causes damage it is an offence." She said the force was working closely with retailers to ensure that sales of eggs and flour are restricted to reasonable amounts and are only sold to adults. A spokesman for Asda said they had a number of calls from customers asking if they were going to watch out for youngsters buying eggs this coming Halloween. He said that as a result they would be doing just that - and urging other supermarkets to do the same. Owen Hickey, Asda's customer service operations manager, said: "Our customers tell us loud and clear that they don't like this kind of prank and our stores will be vigilant in looking out for youngsters buying large quantities of eggs." | 
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