Ikea has issued a nationwide warning to people not to try to organise games of hide and seek in their stores - after police were called to one.
Some 3,000 teenagers had signed up to take part in a game at the store in Glasgow, and Ikea had to beef up security and police attended to nip the game in the bud.
Some attendees who said they would take part when it was posted as a Facebook event in Scotland’s largest city did manage to get in, and hid in wardrobes and fridges.
But scores of others were turned away by police and security before the event was due to begin.
Scotland Police sent five officers to guard the entrance to the store, according to The Mirror.
It fizzled out, but only with the help of police nipping it in the bud, and now Ikea have reiterated their objection to people using their huge stores as a playground.
Rob Cooper, the store manager for Ikea Glasgow, told STV : "The safety of our customers and co-workers is always our highest priority.
“We were aware of an unofficial hide and seek Facebook event being organised to take place at our store and have been working with the local police for support,” he added.
An Ikea spokesperson said the rule applied across the country, and discouraged anyone from thinking of a copycat game.
“While we appreciate playing games in one of our stores may be appealing to some, we do not allow this kind of activity to take place to ensure we are offering a safe environment and relaxed shopping experience for our customers."
Hide-and-seek games have taken place at other Ikea stores in the past, with 500 people participating in a game in Belgium in 2014.
There have been to start a mass game of hide and seek at the Ikea store in Bristol over the years, and the Eastville store is said to be the first in the country where someone undertook the ‘Ikea sleepover challenge’ - which involved people hiding in the store until it closes, spending the night there, and then hiding again to avoid detection in the morning.
Most recently, a Facebook event page advertising a round of the playground game ‘The Floor Is Lava’, attracted thousands of people willing to play, before the to a Bristol band’s gig at a pub in Totterdown.
An Ikea spokesman said the company appreciates that people want to have fun in its stores, however the behaviour is prohibited.
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