A seaside 'cowboys and Indians' shooting game has been removed from an arcade after a mum complained it was racist. Emily Crossing, 30, wrote to bosses at the Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare in Somerset following a family visit.
She spotted the game which featured a saloon with a cowboy on the backdrop, and a gun for shooting moving Native American figures while the player sat on a horse. The adult social care worker from Oxford wrote to pier bosses and told them she thought it was "extremely racist" and "outdated".
Emails appear to show bosses replying to say it was a "legacy piece" - and then later saying that nobody else had complained, and it was up to parents to police use. However, when approached for comment earlier this week, a spokesperson said the game had been removed.
Emily, from Oxford, said: "It's clearly racist. It's absolutely shocking. Mum and I both just had our mouths open when we first saw it - we were in absolute shock.
"The figures of indigenous Americans were in full-on headdresses and there are little 'cowboys' everywhere.
"I can't believe the managers have no idea about cultural appropriation."
Emily says she first emailed the company on May 29 after a visit earlier that month. She claims she then contacted the Grand Pier again over a month later, as she hadn't heard back.
She says she then received a reply, which she says claimed the game was a legacy piece the company inherited when they bought the pier. Emily then posted on Instagram where she says she received messages of support.
And she said: "This is 2022 - that game is racist whether you chose to play it or not. It's outdated and extremely shocking."
As of July 12, the game was still available on the pier. But, when contacted on July 21, a Grand Pier spokesperson said: "That machine is no longer in our estate."
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