POLICE in a North-East town are urging shopkeepers to be wary of selling eggs and flour to trick-or-treating youths.

Inspector Paul Unsworth, from Darlington Community Safety Partnership, has written to every grocery shop in the town to warn about the distress the ingredients can cause when used as missiles.

The letter said: "The purpose of this letter is to raise awareness of the potential mischief by the younger generation that can be involved during the purchase of items such as eggs and flour.

"Your assistance in this matter by highlighting these possibilities to your staff at a time when they are extra vigilant, would be greatly appreciated."

Acting Sergeant Sham Sahani, from the partnership, said: "We can't actually stop shops from selling the items, but if retailers are aware, they may question why a young teenager wants six boxes of eggs and ten bags of flour.

"Youths going round throwing eggs and flour think it is just mischief, but it will cause major distress to members of the community, particularly the vulnerable ones."

Supermarket company Asda has told staff across the country to refuse under-16s who are only buying eggs.