Asda has withdrawn a “mental patient” Halloween costume it sold online which included a fake blood-spattered straightjacket and a fake meat cleaver.

The £20 costume within the George clothing range caused an outrage on Twitter, with ex-footballer Stan Collymore, who has had a well documented battle with depression, tweeted: "Dear ASDA, nice stereotype of 'Mental patients'. Do you actually realise how many people are hanging themselves because of the stigma?"

Katie Dalton, of Welsh mental health charity Gofal, wrote on Twitter: "Dear @asda, how on earth did you come to the conclusion that this is an appropriate fancy dress costume? Disgraceful."
Asda said the sale had been a "completely unacceptable error".

In a statement, it added: "[The costume] should never have been sold and it was withdrawn as soon as it was brought to our attention."

Asda added: "We're deeply sorry one of our fancy dress costumes has upset people."