MUSEUM officials have been forced to withdraw swords from sale in the gift shop of the newly refurbished Kelvingrove just a day after the art gallery re-opened to the public.

Glasgow City Council took the decision yesterday to remove the swords from the shelves "in light of public concern".

Complaints had been received that it was inappropriate for the city's flagship museum to be selling swords less than two weeks after the end of a nationwide knife amnesty during which police urged members of the public to surrender similar weapons.

The expanded gift shop is one of the new features of Kelvingrove, which opened on Tuesday after a three-year restoration project. Many of the items for sale in the shop are replicas of exhibits in Kelvingrove, which has a large armour and weapons section.

Three different swords were on sale in the shop when the museum opened on Tuesday, ranging in price from GBP99 for a sword to GBP160 for a rapier with 35in blade.

Although the swords were displayed in locked glass cabinets, some visitors complained that they should not be on sale.

Last week it was revealed that more than 12,000 bladed weapons were handed in to police forces across Scotland during the latest knife amnesty.

Swords accounted for 474 of the 12,645 weapons surrendered between May 25 and June 30. More than half of all the blades came from the west of Scotland.

During the first weekend after the end of the amnesty, 11 people in Glasgow's south side were arrested and held for possessing a weapon. Seven were charged with carrying blades.

A council said the swords on sale at Kelvingrove were ornamental replicas, but they were being withdrawn nonetheless.

He said: "The ornamental swords are completely legitimate, but in light of public concern we have withdrawn them from the Kelvingrove shop with immediate effect.

"I can also confirm that no swords were sold before they were removed from the shelves."

The removal of the swords came on the same day that police and Customs warned holidaymakers not to bring back weapons as souvenirs.

A campaign was launched at airports across Scotland yesterday, making clear to tourists the consequences of bringing illegal weapons home from their holiday.

Police forces and Customs officials have teamed up with BAA, the airport operator, to crack down on the trend.

John Neilson, Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable, said: "Although these weapons may be readily available while you're abroad, when you get home they are classed as offensive weapons.

"Most people do not intend any harm when they buy them and simply see them as a holiday souvenir, but if they get into the wrong hands they could prove fatal."

In the past year, HM Revenue and Customs has seized hundreds of weapons at Scottish airports.

Most are from traditional holiday destinations such as Spain and Turkey, although an increasing number have been brought from countries such as Poland and the Philippines.

One traveller returning from the US was discovered with a machete at Glasgow Airport.

In Edinburgh, telescopic truncheons from Thailand and knuckle-dusters from Malaysia have been seized.

Flyers and posters have been distributed to holidaymakers detailing what may happen if they are caught out.