Shop sparks fury among nearby residents

An assortment of blunted swords and body armour appeared in the shop window at 15 Rowlands Road, Worthing, on February 17. But the shop's owners have appealed for calm, claiming all fears are groundless.

For previews of what's to come, customers are directed to the company website, where the full range of body armour, helmets, knives, swords and replica guns are on display.

One section of the product list '“ containing the most deadly looking and macabre products on sale '“ is named simply 'Scary S**t'.

One nearby shopworker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Most people are up in arms."The day they put everything in the window you should have seen the type of people standing out there. They say they're for enthusiasts, but how are they going to stop a kid of 17 or 18 going in and getting a weapon?"

An anonymous letter sent to the Herald by "a concerned Rowlands Road resident" said: "Allowing this shop to open is sheer madness."

Local councillor and chairman of the planning committee, John Livermore, said: "I was totally horrified at the prospect of this kind of shop being permitted to open in Worthing.My opinion is that this kind of retail shop is not required here in Worthing or, in fact, anywhere else. If anything can be done to have these premises closed down, it will receive my full support."

But Malcolm Beith, a 49-year-old ex-accountant, father-of-two and spokesman for shop owners, The Purple Zone, criticised Mr Livermore's "snap judgement" of the shop and its customers and offered reassurances to residents.

He said: "All they have seen is a display and drawn conclusions from that. We have now toned it down. We are primarily a clothing shop but we also sell ornamental swords. They are made purely to look attractive. If you were to hit them against something hard, the blade would come away from the handle. By law, replica swords cannot be sold to anybody under the age of 16, but we have our own policy of not selling them to anyone under 18 and we require photographic identification. This is all totally within the law and we always work with the police. We are responsible people."

Worthing district commander, Chief Insp Jason Taylor, stressed that the shop owners had been advised the police would take action should any offences be committed, but he did not expect it to get to that stage.

"It should not be a problem when it opens," said Chief Insp Taylor, "we are asking that everyone who has an involvement works together to make sure that no offences are committed."