An Aldershot town centre shop selling swords, daggers, double-edged axes, sow-on swastikas and throwing knives is an “insult” to the town, shoppers have claimed.

Other items for sale at Aaagh! The Home of Hollywood in the Wellington Centre included imitation firearms, nunchucks, racks of samurai swords and other bladed instruments, prompting fear of a knife crime epidemic in the area.

It follows the removal of coats with built-in knives that were on sale at the Farnborough branch of designer clothing shop TK Maxx by the company two weeks ago.

Shoppers passing Aaagh! - which opened for business on Saturday and also has a branch in Woking - expressed their shock and anger at what it was selling.

Shop owner Matthew Caswell said: “We at Aaagh! Home of Hollywood do not intend to cause offence to anyone in the local community,”

“We are very aware of the concerns raised by members of the general public, and we assure everyone concerned that we are taking responsible measures.

“We currently refuse service to any individual under 18 years of age or who is displaying an improper attitude.
 
“We assure the general public that we do not intend to sell weapons, but we are involved in the sales of collectable items and memorabilia, and all of our age-restricted legislation items are for the purposes of display only.

“We sincerely apologise to anyone who has been offended by some of our World War Two memorabilia. This stock has been removed as a gesture of our goodwill towards the public.

“We assure the general public that we are a responsible seller or memorabilia and collectable goods, with tried and tested track record.”

For more on this story, see this week's Aldershot News, out on Friday October 17.