Supermarket staff tell shopper's son he is too young to carry wine

A mother shopping with her 14-year-old son was told she couldn’t give him a heavy shopping bag to carry – because it contained a bottle of wine.

Gill Power-Forward had just finished at the check-out at the Canford Heath Asda store and was handing the heavier of the two bags to her strapping teenage son Andrew to take to the car.

But she was stunned to be stopped by the cashier, who insisted she carry the heavy bag herself because it had the bottle of wine in – and her son might drink it. Gill said she thought it was a joke – but the cashier maintained that that was the rule.



Gill said: “I didn’t know what to say. The world’s gone mad was all I could think – it’s crazy.” The 56-year-old, of Spur Hill Avenue, Parkstone, added: “Suppose I’d been in a wheelchair and was unable to carry the bag.

“Hasn’t this stupidity gone far enough? Do adults have to be treated like children, too?”

A spokesman for Asda apologised, adding: “We pride ourselves on being a responsible retailer and on this occasion our colleagues at the Canford Heath store were being overly cautious. We hope that this hasn’t put Mrs Power-Forward off shopping at Asda in future.”