A SECURITY guard has slammed a supermarket for making its knives too accessible.

Jason Brown said the knives on sale at Asda’s Brighton Marina branch are too easy to steal.

The 45-year-old said: “The store is open 24 hours and you do get some characters going in there.

“Anyone could go in and take one. They should be looking after their staff and customers more.”

He took photographs of knives, which have blades ranging from three to eight inches, in plastic packaging as well as knife block sets in cardboard boxes.

He also photographed the store’s make-up section, in which products were locked away in cabinets.

Mr Brown said: “Shouldn’t they really have knives put away like they do the cosmetics and games?

“It seems they care more about the make-up.

“I would like to think they are trying to do their bit to stop knife crime, especially with the way the world is going at the moment, but judging by this they are not.”

Asda is one of several retailers in the UK to have agreed to voluntary rules on the sale of knives.

The shops have agreed to take “practical and proportionate” action to limit accessibility and avoid immediate use, reduce the possibility of injury, and prevent theft.

And they have agreed to display and package knives “securely” to “minimise risk”.

Asda said its packaging met these standards.

Tesco, Lidl, Amazon, Wilko, Argos, Morrisons, Poundland, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Waitrose, Boots, Aldi, Co-op, B&Q, TK Maxx and Debenhams have all agreed the guidelines.

Asda also announced earlier this month that it would remove single kitchen knives from sale by the end of April in response to concerns about knife crime.

Asda’s senior vice president Nick Jones said at the time: “Reports of knife crime – and tragic deaths resulting from attacks – are becoming a more and more regular part of our daily life.

“These attacks, particularly those involving young people, have an impact on us all.

“We strongly believe that we have a responsibility to support the communities that we serve.

“While we have already taken steps to restrict the sale of knives to ensure that they do not fall into the wrong hands, we felt there was more we could be doing to support those looking at how to bring this issue under control.”