Playmobil's toy robber raises controversy

ZIRNDORF, Germany, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- German toymaker Playmobil is drawing criticism for marketing a Bank and Safe play set that includes a gun-toting robber.

The Zirndorf company said the play set, which says it is for children ages 4-10, is aimed at encouraging youngsters to "imagine, invent and create," the British publication Sunday People reported Monday.

However, the toy raised the ire of Danny Bryan, chairman of Britain's Communities Against Gun and Knife Crime.

"We don't want to be encouraging young people to look at these sorts of things. I think it is horrendous that young people are given all these images to shape them," he said.