It's not your typical present for a third birthday, but all young Ella Ball wanted to celebrate her big day was a trip out to her favourite place - Asda.
The youngster even has her own special uniform and is a familiar face at the Rawtenstall store in Lancashire. LancsLive reports that Ella's love for Asda was formed when her mum, Debbie, started a job there last July.
Debbie said: “I asked what she wanted to do for her birthday and she said, ‘Go to Asda’. Every time she comes into store everyone makes a fuss of her – and she loves it! She loves the shopping, she loves helping – she’ll put things back on the shelves if she sees them in the wrong place – and she likes the attention everyone gives her.”
Ella has since become familiar face in store and Debbie says her colleagues are so welcoming.
Service colleague Debbie said: “The top she’s got is one of my old ones. It’s got a hole in it, so one of my colleagues, Elizabeth Johnstone, made it into one that Ella could wear. She always wants to come in. Yesterday when I was coming to work I had to leave her kicking and screaming at the door.”
As a special birthday treat, Debbie arranged for Ella to do a pretend shop where she chose items from the shelves to put in her trolley before scanning them at the checkout, under the supervision of Debbie’s colleague Bev Buckley.
Debbie said: “She was only on the till for about five minutes but she loved it!”
