Mum with disabled son asked to 'either leave the store or control her child' at Asda

A mum was left mortified after she and her four-year-old son were asked to leave Asda while she shopped for a birthday cake for him.

Leanne Hampson says she was told her son Alfie, who has a glue ear and is partially deaf, was being too loud and they were asked to leave the Asda store in Chester on Thursday morning. The youngster is also being assessed for ADHD.

Leanne was approached by security staff after Alfie made "loud, screeching noises", reports the Liverpool Echo. The 39-year-old mum says the security guard told her to "either leave the store or control her child" after other customers made complaints about noise.

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She said: "Alfie's hearing condition means that he is quite loud. When I was doing my shopping, he was making a screeching noise and I did tell him to stop. When I was at the checkout, the security guard came over to me. I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I’ve never been so ashamed in my life."

As they left the store, the security guard gave Alfie a high five and said: "Aw see, you can be quiet". Leanne, from Ellesmere Port, felt that this was "incredibly patronising", and said the "whole experience was an absolute shambles".

Four-year-old Alfie is partially deaf (Leanne Hampson)

"It’s awful to be discriminated against, and I want to make people aware that people have disabled children in this day and age, and it's hard work," said Leanne. "For a giant superstore like Asda, they should be used to this, and for the security guard to come over to me in front of other people - it’s embarrassing and quite shocking." She urged the retailer to "keep an open mind in future" and provide extra training to staff.

A spokesperson for ASDA said staff did not intend to offend Leanne, adding: "Despite receiving complaints from other customers about her son making loud noises, colleagues at our Chester store decided instead to try and make light of the situation by joking with Leanne and her son. If these comments have upset Leanne that was never our intention, and we look forward to welcoming them both back to our store very soon."

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