A top supermarket has been called out after knocking down the price of sharp kitchen knives to under a pound - on the same day they pledged to stop selling them.

Asda announced on Saturday that it was banning the sale of all single kitchen knives and would only be selling the blades in sets in a bid to tackle knife crime.

But the company was left red-faced after a customer at its Mitcham branch in south west London snapped the single blades on sale for half price the very same day.

People were left outraged and confused upon seeing the cut price blades, including serrated bread knives on sale for 50p, reduced from their original price of £1.

The woman who took the picture, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was a bad look on the company.

She said: "Down the back of Asda, in the middle of knife crime crisis.

"Good to know our kids can get a knife for 50p.

"I am disgusted - it's putting temptation out there."

Knife crime has increased by 44.8 per cent over the last eight years.

When making the announcement, Asda said that individual knives are the most shoplifted utensil in stores, and that by cutting them from shops, they could help combat knife crime.

At the time, Asda senior vice president Nick Jones said: "Whilst 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.

"We know single knives are the most common knife products to be stolen and that is why we have chosen to remove these items from our stores.

"This is an issue that means a lot to our customers and to our colleagues, and we are committed to playing our small part in helping to make our communities safer for all."

On the half-price blades at the Mitcham store, a spokesman for Asda said: "We are committed to playing our part in helping to keep our communities safe, which is why we are removing single knives from sale.

"Due to the number of stores we have nationwide it will take a little time to remove all these products, which is why we have set a realistic time frame of the end of April to ensure we can follow through with our commitment.

"We welcome all feedback to enable us to continue being a responsible retailer for our customers."

In 2016, Asda signed a voluntary agreement on a set of principles to prevent the sale of knives to under 18s and to ensure that knives are safely displayed and packaged.