A blind man says he felt humiliated after being stopped by security guards at a Wakefield supermarket for entering the shop with his carer.
Like many shops, Morrisons has reintroduced the one-person-per-household-only rule to slow the spread of Covid, and Shah Miah was halted by staff at The Ridings store on Saturday afternoon.
Along with his carer Rachel, who is also his partner, he also had his trusty assistance Labrador, Sasha, by his side and who was in uniform.
Mr Miah felt it was clearly evident that he was disabled and needed assistance, but ended up being surrounded by several security officers when he began arguing.
It resulted in a stand off after he refused to leave.
Eventually, the police were called and they escorted him from the premises.
Mr Miah, who is 36, said: “It’s obvious I’m disabled and Sasha is clearly an assistance dog, but it just kicked off.
“It felt like there security guards around me and it all got very heated.
“I know they have the policy of letting only one family member in but there are exemptions. It was very humiliating.”
Mr Miah was born partially sighted but his vision has deteriorated to the point that he can only make out light, shadows and basic shapes.
He is from Keighley but spends time with his partner at her home in Lupset and was a regular at the Morrisons store.
While Sasha can guide him to locations, he needs his carer to choose items from the shelf, so he is exempt from the one-person rule.
He also is exempt from wearing a mask so he can give clear instructions to Sasha.
He said: “Sasha has given me a new lease of life since I got her a few years ago. She is trained to help me shop at certain places, she knows Morrisons and this will throw her back.
“Life is already demanding and very hard.
“I have been to hospital and shops without a face mask and it’s the first time I’ve been accosted.”
He admitted calling one of the security staff a ‘lemon’ out of frustration, but denies he was abusive.
Mr Miah says he will now be forced to shop elsewhere, which he says will be “challenging.”
He added: “It has snookered us a bit but there’s not much I can do.”
Meanwhile, Morrisons has given him an exclusion notice that bans him from all of their stores.
When asked for a response by the Express, Morrisons simply replied: “We do not tolerate any form of anti-social behaviour in our stores.”
The notice Mr Miah was given reads: “Your right as a member of the public to enter any of our premises or property is now withdrawn.
“This means you are not permitted to enter any of our stores again, and if you do so, you will be treated as a trespasser and will be liable to immediate removal.”
Mr Miah says he is looking to fight the lifetime ban is and has requested the footage from a body-worn camera of the security guard that stopped him to help prove his case.
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Not going to use morrisons now
Disgraceful anti-social behaviour from Morrisons staff who ought to have the intelligence to know that what they did was wrong by deliberately instigating a confrontation ! I hope that Mr Miah and Rachel receive a full apology from Morrisons after more people become involved to support the abused shoppers. Morrisons Stores Management should made to feel the widespread popular abhorrence and disapproval for this sort of behaviour towards disabled clients.
Management of Morrisons seem to be as feeble minded as their security..
Certainly won’t be setting foot inside again..