Woman knocked out by exploding champagne bottle in Tesco

A retired teacher is still suffering from severe shock and concussion after being hit between the eyes while she was queuing at a supermarket checkout - by an exploding champagne bottle. Wendy Birch was briefly knocked out by the heavy base of the bottle which became a flying missile after blowing when it fell to the floor from another customer's basket in a Tesco store on Saturday.

Now the 65-year-old grandmother who suffered a broken nose and cuts is calling for better safety precautions to be taken to prevent a similar incident occurring. The accident happened when Mrs Birch who lives in Starcross, Devon, visited the Tesco store in nearby Exeter around 6pm. She said: "I was just queuing up at the self service checkout when there was this incredible explosion - it sounded like a bomb.



"Then there was a thump on my head which was really, really painful. When I opened my eyes I realised it was a bottle that had exploded and I remember thinking, 'is that the liquid from the bottle dripping from my head' and I looked down and of course it was my blood that was dripping on to the floor. It felt very painful - I was just so shocked - everybody was.

"The bottle had rolled off another customer's basket about five feet away from me. It exploded when it hit the floor and the base flew into my face." Mrs Birch was diagnosed with concussion by her GP who told her it could take weeks to clear. And she has an appointment a cranial osteopath who will examine her skull for fractures. She added: "I'm sill muddle headed as as result of the concussion and have been very groggy since."