YORK shops have no plans to follow Bluewater and ban "hoodies", despite a Prime Ministerial endorsement. Such an embargo is unfair, say the critics.

But these tops have long been associated with crime. Who can forget the trauma of young Miss Penelope Pitstop, relentlessly stalked by serial criminal the Hooded Claw?

Then there was Little Red Riding Hood, long implicated in the disappearance of her grandma. And, if hooded tops were banned, perhaps we might finally bring an end to the terrifying reign of the most notorious killer in history: Mr G Reaper.

Updated: 10:48 Tuesday, May 17, 2005