A WOMAN has accused supermarket giants Tesco of glamorising knife crime after she bought some Halloween crackers for a children's party - and a plastic knife fell out.

A WOMAN has accused supermarket giants Tesco of glamorising knife crime after she bought some Halloween crackers for a children's party - and a plastic knife fell out.

Charmaine Dagnall, 33, of Wilkinson Drive, Grange Farm said the children immediately began pretending to stab each other with the toy.

The incident was particularly distressing to her partner Stuart Butcher, 34, who found his mother in a pool of blood at their home in Goldsmith Road, Ipswich after she was stabbed eleven times by a jealous ex-boyfriend in 1990.

Ms Dagnall said: “I was disgusted. I can't believe that was in a children's cracker. We are all trying to make our children realise how dangerous it is out there. I think Tesco should know better than that.

“The thing that annoys me about this is that it is such a big issue in the news. I do not think they should glamorise it, there are kids dying all the time.”

She bought the crackers from the Tesco store in Martlesham Heath for a Halloween party at her mother's house with her daughters Scarlett, 3, and Eva, 7 weeks. There were four more children of friends and family there aged nine, eight, six and one.

The children had been trick-or-treating in fancy dress, but the party took a turn for the worse when Ms Dagnall gave them the crackers.

She said: “The first thing the children did was go and stab each other. My three-year-old daughter said 'Mummy, what are they doing?'

“It completely ruined the evening. I felt guilty to be honest, because I bought the crackers, but I did not know there would be a knife in them.”

Ms Dagnall said she had complained to Tesco about the crackers, which were obviously marketed at children.

She said: “They basically told me that as far as they are concerned, that is what Halloween is about, they said it's all about horror movies. I said I wouldn't let my three-year-old watch a horror movie.”

Her partners Stuart Butcher 34 added: “This may seem over the top but in my view today's TV and newspapers are littered with knife crime and gun crime, murders, stabbings and street robbery.

“I find it highly irresponsible that a massive company can overlook this and sell this product to the public when there is such negativity surrounding knife crime.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “These items aren't meant to cause offence and we are sorry if that has been the result.”