A FATHER was left fuming after a supermarket refused to sell his ten-year-old son a loaf of bread.

Paul Ward sent his son David out to get some white bread from their local Aldi store at the Three Lakes Retail Park, in Selby.

But shortly afterwards, David came back, saying he had been refused.

David went back to the store, explaining that his father had sent him to buy the bread, but was again refused.

The store manager later said young children were not allowed to enter the shop on their own in case they tried to steal something.

Paul, 28, of Chestnut Way, said: “I sent David out to nip up the road on his bike and get me some bread to have with our dinner because I was busy making us some chips.

“The next thing I knew, he came in looking upset, saying that they wouldn’t let him buy anything.

“I just couldn’t understand it because he had been in there two or three times a week over the previous few weeks on his own and he didn’t have a problem.

“They had even let him get up to the till with the bread before they refused to sell it to him. I said go back again and tell them that I sent you to get it for me and he came back saying the same thing.”

Paul said: “When I called up, at first the woman I spoke to said it was a new policy because some children had been stealing.

“But then I spoke to the manager and he said it was a company policy which had been in force for a while. I can’t see any sign of it on their website and there were no notices in the shop itself.

“Banning kids from going in the shop on their own because some have stolen in the past is discrimination.

“It’s insulting and outrageous to tar all kids with the same brush like that.

“Suppose someone had seen my son being turned away? What would they have thought?”

An Aldi spokesperson said: “Although this is not a national policy, in consideration of all our customers, we request that all children under the age of 16 are accompanied by an adult when entering our Selby store.”