'Shoplifting' Toddler Hid Socks In Pram

'Shoplifting' Toddler Hid Socks In Pram

A little girl of two landed her mum in trouble with a store's security firm when she went on a mini 'shoplifting' spree.

Toddler Hannah Reilly was at the Clydebank Shopping Centre with her mum Tina when they popped in to Primark.

After leaving the store having splashed out £38 on bits and pieces, Tina was stopped by a security guard and asked about a pair of children's sunglasses which were on top of Hannah's pram.

Tina realised she had forgotten that her daughter had been playing with the £1 specs as they browsed the store.

The 29-year-old apologised to the security guard and offered to pay for the glasses, but was escorted back into the shop and asked for permission for Hannah's pram to be searched.

The flustered mum agreed, thinking she had nothing to hide.

Her local paper reports she was 'dumbfounded' when a pair of socks were discovered in the pram.

"I was trying to text my husband Michael to tell him what was happening and the man pulled a pair of black socks from the pram," said Tina, who runs her own hairdressing business.

"I was in shock. I didn't even know they were there. I was highly embarrassed and lost for words."

Tina assumed Hannah had squirreled the socks away without her noticing as they made their way around the store. However, she says her explanation was not accepted by the guard.

"He asked me to write down my name and date of birth and then asked for some proof of identification," she told the paper. "I signed my name as 'Tina' but my driver's licence says 'Christina' and he started to accuse me of using a false name. I couldn't believe it."

The shocked mum said she was then handed a piece of paper informing her she had been 'charged' with theft and would receive a letter from the company explaining what would happen next.

"When I asked If I could pay for the items and leave, he said no because they were 'evidence'," Tina said. "I left highly embarrassed and upset at the way I had been treated."

When Tina told her husband he was outraged and contacted the store's customer services department. The furious dad then received an email from a customer services advisor who said they wanted to 'take this opportunity to apologise to you and your wife on behalf of Primark for any distress caused'.

A manager then also wrote to them apologising further and said that the store's security was managed by an external company, Lodge Services.

"The security guard's behaviour was out of order and there is no way my wife and daughter should have been treated like this," Michael said.

"We're pleased that Primark have said sorry but we will not be satisfied until we get an apology from the security firm."

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