A RAWDON minister has taken on supermarket giant Asda over its selling of plastic Hallowe'en crosses.

The Rev Marcus Bull, minister of Trinity Church, complained to Asda after seeing the plastic golden crosses on sale at its Owlcotes store and is calling for them to be withdrawn.

Mr Bull said: "I am not a fan of Hallowe'en, although I do accept that other people enjoy the activities and parties that go along with it.

"However, while witch costumes and grisly masks are one thing, I believe that a line has been crossed when a store sells cheap plastic versions of sacred Christian symbols for use in what is essentially the celebration of a pagan, certainly non Christian, festival."

The 97p crosses are being sold along with other items at the store in the run up to Hallowe'en on October 31.

Mr Bull complained to a member of staff and on a second visit, when the crosses were still on sale, he complained again, along with he claims several letters of complaint from members of his congregation.

He added: "I do not see myself as a killjoy. Neither do I want to cause unnecessary trouble.

"But I am a Christian minister and I am extremely offended that this most precious symbol of my faith has been turned into a cheap, tacky toy and will be sold to members of the public for them to use in what is a celebration of the forces of evil.

"If the sacred symbols of any other faith were to be abused in such a way, there would be a public outcry."

He says his campaign has also been backed by other ministers in the area and is sorry that the supermarket plans to continue selling the crosses.

"I feel that my complaint has not been taken seriously. I think they haven't realised how offensive it is to sell a tacky cross in this way."

But a spokesman for Asda defended the company's decision to sell the crosses.

He said: "We are very sorry that the Rev Bull was offended to find the gold crucifix amongst our Hallowe'en range.

"We decided to include this item in common with many other fancy dress shops.

"We ensure that we seek colleague and customer feedback when selecting products - especially when it comes to planning the Hallowe'en range.

"The product has been on sale for some weeks and we have not received another complaint like this, in fact this particular item has sold well.

"Hallowe'en is becoming one of the most popular calendar events.

"Fable has long linked the warding off of vampires with crucifixes and it is in that context that we included one in the range."