SAINSBURY'S has pulled a controversial clothing advert after backlash from shoppers.
The supermarket giant has apologised for the campaign after it showed a woman wearing the store's £24 wrap dress with a slogan reading: "For walks in the parks or strolls after dark".
But people slammed the advert, with many saying women walking alone in the dark has proven to be dangerous.
One person said: "a man wrote that, for sure", while another teased: "Glad they have done their research".
Another person said: "I saw this shockingly, badly thought-out advert through a friend's Instagram.
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"In light of recent events and protests around women's safety this advert is tone deaf and a very bizarre way of saying you do not employ enough women in advertising."
One woman who spoke out on Twitter stood up for those who were criticising anyone who was unhappy with the ad.
She said: "If you're a person who likes walking or strolling at night and feel safe doing so, I'm genuinely happy for you.
"But please don't have a go at people who don't feel the same.
"There are a lot of well-documented studies, reports and research that has been done around the safety of women.
"If you feel like they do not represent your lived experience, then you are lucky."
Sainsbury's has since said it is working to remove the posters from all stores and apologised for any offence caused.
A spokesperson said: "We're sorry that due to the design, some customers found this sign to be inappropriate and are working to remove these from the store.
"We'll work hard with our agency partner to ensure this doesn't happen again."
In May last year, the Office for National Statistics revealed that a staggering one in two women and one in six men felt unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home.
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And half of all women aged between 16 and 34 experienced harassment in the last year, with 38 per cent of them having to deal with catcalls, wolf whistles or unwanted sexual comments.
