Shop dumps iron-on swastika motif

Iron-on swastika badges have been taken off the shelves of a Buckinghamshire boutique after a complaint to police.

Punkyfish in Milton Keynes sold two swastika designs - one plain and the other with a skull and the word 'Nazi'.

Kelly Russell, of Bletchley, complained to the police when she saw the patches. "I couldn't believe it when I saw them for sale," she said.

The manager withdrew the items once police told her about the possibility they constituted a racist offence.

Police made contact

Navrita Atwal, director of Milton Keynes Racial Equality Council, said she would be writing to the Punkyfish head office informing them that selling the symbol is damaging to community relations.

She said: "The store should have been more mindful when agreeing to sell these symbols. They should have refused to be associated with this product. Ignorance is not an excuse."

Anna Huggins, from Thames Valley Police, said: "We are treating this as a racist incident. We are still looking into it although we made contact with the shop and advised them to take it off the shelves."

The shop manager would not give her name but said: "We do not sell them any more. The police spoke to me and I have nothing else to say."