LIDL is facing sharp criticism after an in-store blunder led to knives being advertised as “toys”.
The German supermarket giant was forced to apologise after an image of the bungled advertisement circulated on social media.
The huge knives, listed as toys, were being flogged for £9.99 at a branch in Kingsheath, Birmingham, with residents branding the fault “shocking”, as the West Midlands Police force area suffers from the highest rate of knife crime in England.
An image of the gaffe was posted on a Facebook community page before the company was alerted about the mistake on Twitter by a concerned customer, who joked “some quality bargains at Lidl King’s Heath..”
Lidl’s Twitter account quickly responded, with the company forced to apologise for the oversight: “We’re so sorry about that and have contacted the store to get these moved to the correct location and thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.”
But one local has said they are “shocked” that the supermarket would make this kind of mistake “especially with all the knife crime happening in Birmingham”.
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Shajid Naqvi, 56, told The Sun: “Knife crime is an issue in Birmingham, especially following the murder of Cody Fisher – so to see a retail giant make a blunder like that is shocking really.”
Cody Fisher’s murder sparked a huge outcry, both in the West Midlands and nationally, after the 23-year-old footballer was stabbed to death at a packed Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day in 2022, while enjoying a night out with friends.
His mother Tracey Fisher said knife crime is “ruining so many lives” and that she fears the sentencing of her son’s killers will not act as a deterrent for other young people.
Cody’s mum pays tribute to ‘best friend’
In a powerful victim impact statement, Cody’s mum Tracey said: “Since that horrendous day I feel like my own life has ended.
“It is as if I had been stabbed straight through the heart.
“I instilled in Cody from a young boy that he must stick up for himself and don’t let anyone bully him.
“I told him that sad, weak individuals do exist in our society and they ruin lives.
“How ironic and saddening that this is exactly what happened to Cody. He was only doing what his mum told him to do and I think about this every day, but you never expect your child to be murdered.”
Tracey also told how her PE teacher son “loved teaching young children” and said it was his “lifelong passion” to play football.
She continued: “He loved, cared and respected his family including his dog. He had more living to do and so much more love and kindness to give to the world. Cody taught us all so much about ourselves and we miss him every single minute of every day.
“I will not get to see him go on to do more amazing things, like inspire many more children and adults as he used to do, have holidays with him and go to his footy matches every week, to see him kick a ball like he’d done from the day he could walk.
“Sadly I will never see my son live on through his children and as such never enjoy any grandchildren from him. Now all I can do along with his dog is visit Cody’s headstone, to try and make some sense of what happened to him.”
Tracey said she her family had been put through “torture” and revealed her reasons for not attending the murder trial in person.
The mum explained: “There can never be any forgiveness for what they have done to us, it may have been evident that I have not been present at the trial. This is because whatever the result it will never put Cody back in our lives.
“The thought of having to see the people who took Cody from me, have to listen to their abhorrent lies, blame each other and show no remorse for their actions is too much for a mother to bear.
“Cody Fisher was brave, fearless and the most genuine soul I knew. I had the pleasure and honour to call him my son, may you rest in peace my beautiful boy.”
Remy Gordon, 23, and Kami Carpenter, 22, both received life sentences after being found guilty of Cody’s murder at Birmingham Crown Court.
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Gordon was handed a minimum term of 26 years behind bars, while Carpenter was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.
The West Midlands Police force area recorded 5,188 knife or sharp instrument offences – an increase of 16 per cent – between March 2022 and March 2023, the latest figures show.
There has been an annual 5% increase in knife crime across the country as a whole,
In 2022, police forces in England and Wales recorded about 45,000 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument – including more than 260 killings.
The Sun has approached Lidl for further comment.
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Ryan Merrifield
