THE grandfather of tragic toddler Levi Bleasdale has slammed Woolworths for selling T-shirts to young children which he says glorify joyriding.

Michael Ryan, from Burnley, whose three-year-old granddaughter died after she was hit by a stolen car which was being driven by uninsured driver Mohammed Hussain, today urged shoppers to avoid the High Street giants.

Mr Ryan was alerted by local MP Kitty Ussher that the offensive T-shirts, which contain the slogan "Drive it like you stole it" were being sold for £4.50 to children as young as 10 in some Woolworths stores elsewhere in the country.

And he said family members, who are still coming to terms with the loss of Levi, couldn't believe it.

He added: "What kind of message is that sending out when these T-shirts are being sold to children as young as 10-years-old?

"It's telling them that it's okay to go out and steal cars when they're an adult. That's what happened with Levi. He (Hussain) was in a stolen car when he hit her.

"If the company knew what we'd been through and other families like ours then they wouldn't be selling them.

"It's out of order."

Hussain, 26, of Thurston Street, Burnley, admitted careless driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident and having no driving licence when he appeared at court in February.

He was jailed for 12 weeks for the failing to stop and failing to report, but not for the careless driving charge which is only punishable by a fine. He was also sentenced to four weeks for handling stolen goods.

A spokesman for Woolworths said: "The top in question has been removed from sale with immediate effect. We would like to apologise to any customers who may have been offended by the clothing and we will be reviewing our supply arrangements to ensure that a similar incident does not occur."

And a spokesman for suppliers Peacocks added: "Following customer feedback, on April 13 2006 Peacocks instructed stores to withdraw the slogan T-shirts immediately. Unfortunately one of Peacocks' wholesale partners did not receive this instruction.

"Woolworths has now been made aware of this communication and all of this product has been withdrawn. Peacocks is reviewing its processes to ensure a similar situation does not arise in the future. Peacocks apologises for any distress this incident may have caused."

Dianne Ferreira, of road safety campaigners Brake, said: "It was outrageous that these T-shirts were put on sale sending out a dangerous message to young people.

"We're pleased to hear that Woolworths have taken these items off the shelves."