Bishop's Hallowe'en plea to supermarkets

The Bishop of Bolton is demanding that supermarket bosses tone down their Hallowe'en merchandise. The church leader sent a letter to the heads of the UK's main chains saying: 'I know that many parents are concerned about the underlying tone of some of the goods offered at Hallowe'en and the emphasis on products designed to scare or shock others.'

However the Bishop's requests seems unlikely to find favour with the supermarkets – many of whom make massive profits with the amount of masks and ghoulish goodies they sell. A spokesperson for Asda told The Times; 'We're very sorry the bishop feels the way he does, but we won't apologise for giving customers what they want. Hallowe'en is one of the biggest celebrations of the year. People love dressing up and throwing a party. This year we expect to sell more than a million pumpkins and half a million fancy dress outfits.'

Tesco were more conciliatory, saying that they would not be selling real horror nasties such as Hannibal Lecter masks. 'We are trying to emphasis the fun side of it. We don't do horror,' said a spokesperson for the store.

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