A blind father who was picking up supplies for his elderly neighbours says he was asked to leave an Aldi store for shopping with his partner.
Christy Lynch, 54, from Crosby, Liverpool, claims he was shopping at the Aldi in Thornton when he was thrown out of the store and told he couldn’t re-enter.
A designated key worker for Liverpool City Council, Christy was out shopping for his vulnerable neighbours on Friday morning, reports the Liverpool Echo.
He says he likes to be as independent as possible but because he’s totally blind in one eye and only has limited vision in the other, he needed his girlfriend’s help to go round the Aldi.
Many supermarkets are generally preventing couples from shopping together, asking that only one person enters the shop, to try to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Aldi has now issued an apology to Christy and clarified that, where necessary, customers will be able to shop with others.
Christy told the Liverpool Echo: "It was really embarrassing for me to be treated like that.
“It was humiliating to be shouted at and told to leave in front of a massive queue.
“It's my local store. I always use that branch.
“There were other people walking around in pairs inside so it didn't make sense that we were singled out.
"I was shouted at by the security guard who told me to get out.
“I had a mask on. I take this situation seriously and my partner was there because I need assistance while shopping.
"I'm not an aggressive person at all and I was trying to be diplomatic throughout the whole of this.
"I tried to have a reasonable discussion with management and security but they weren't having any of it.”
In a statement, Aldi issued an apology to Christy and said that the incident had arisen due to a misunderstanding with the security guard.
An Aldi spokesperson said: "To help with social distancing, we are encouraging all customers to try and reduce the number of family members they bring with them into our stores.
"However, where necessary, customers can shop with others, and we will remind the security guard at our Thornton store of this policy.
"We have spoken to Mr Lynch to apologise for any upset this may have caused.”
