Wiltshire police are appealing to grocers to be suspicious about selling flour and eggs to teenagers before Halloween, because Assistant Chief Constable doubts that they are planning to make pancakes for Junior MasterChef.

Instead, ACC Deb Smith has written to food stores to alert them to the possibility the ingredients could be used for antisocial behaviour.

“In previous years, we have received reports of young people throwing eggs and flour at buildings and homes of unsuspecting victims," she explained. “Whilst we appreciate that Halloween is an opportunity to have fun, it can also be a frightening time for others and we ask that you play your part in highlighting this issue to your staff so they can remain extra vigilant during this period.

“We can’t stop shops from selling items, but we politely ask that you question yourself why a young person, or group of youngsters, want to buy boxes of eggs and bags of flour.

“You can find a Wiltshire Police approved poster via our website. We fully support you in having this made visible in your store in the run-up to Halloween and we also support you in refusing the sale of eggs and flour to anyone under 18 over this period.

“We will not tolerate those wishing to cause harm and disruption to our communities and have warned people that anti-social behaviour and criminal damage during this time will be dealt with firmly and appropriately.”

ACC Smith has asked shop-owners to put up a poster in their stores highlighting the issue to staff.