Toys R Us has scrapped its four collectible dolls based on the characters of the hit TV series Breaking Bad after a campaign by a US mother.

The dolls are based on the AMC series about high school chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, who turns into a crystal meth dealer, and his sidekick Jesse Pinkman. The toys have a detachable bag of cash and a bag of methamphetamines.

Toys R Us said the dolls were being removed immediately from the store's website and shelves.

"Let's just say, the action figures have taken an indefinite sabbatical," Toys R Us said in a statement.

The retailer had maintained that the figures were sold in limited quantities in the adult action figure area of its stores.

The mother, from Fort Myers, Florida, identified in reports as Susan Schrivjer, launched a petition on change.org last week, demanding that Toys R Us stop selling the dolls immediately.

The woman, who wrote the petition under the name Susan Myers, said the dolls were a "dangerous deviation from their family friendly values".

"While the show may be compelling viewing for adults, its violent content and celebration of the drug trade make this collection unsuitable to be sold alongside Barbie dolls and Disney characters," she wrote.

By last night, the petition had 8,000 signatures.

Cranston responded to the controversy on Monday, tweeting: "I'm so mad. I am burning my Florida mom action figure in protest."

The debate has also spurred diehard adult figure collectors to rally behind Toys R US. Daniel Pickett, of Manhattan Beach, California, launched a petition on change.org in favour of the toy seller keeping the dolls. So far, it has collected nearly 3,000 signatures.

"I'm a parent of a school aged child myself, but I'm an informed, responsible parent and I closely monitor the toys, TV, music, movies and games that my daughter sees," Mr Pickett wrote.

"That's my job and I take it seriously. But I also like toys/action figures and I want 3D representations of characters from my favourite properties and I love being able to walk into a store and find them."