MELBOURNE – Australian police said Monday they shut down a graphic shopping centre reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ which reportedly left children crying in distress.

A church group organised Saturday's event as part of their commemorations of the Christian festival of Easter.

But the sight of a man covered in fake blood and apparently nailed to a cross was too much for some children at a shopping centre in the Victorian city of Geelong, southwest of Melbourne.

"Kids were particularly upset and crying," a local police spokesman told Australian Associated Press.

"If they want to do that sort of thing they are quite welcome to do it in a place where it's not going to disturb anyone and where people are going there for that specific reason and know what they are getting themselves into."

Victorian police confirmed that they intervened to stop the reenactment which was deemed too extreme for public viewing and could be considered offensive.

"The closing down of the display was not about religious beliefs, it was due to numerous complaints from the public regarding offensive behaviour," a police statement said.

But Heaven on Earth pastor Sarah Kenneally, who helped organise the event, said she saw no distressed children and defended the decision to stage the reenactment in a public place.

"When the police stopped it I looked behind me and there were about eight children... watching it and none of them looked distressed," she told AAP.

"I think it was pretty sad that a Christian group couldn't express what Easter was truly about for one hour -- it wasn't like we were trying to take over the city or tell everyone they were going to hell."

But Kenneally said the church would consider removing the fake blood next year. "We would probably modify that a bit," she said.

In 2008, some 150,000 Catholic pilgrims watched a bloodied actor portraying Jesus Christ being raised on a cross against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour as part of the church's World Youth Day events attended by Pope Benedict XVI.

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