A supermarket customer says he lives in “constant agony” and claims his knee was shattered in an altercation with Morrisons staff who suspected him of shoplifting.
Chippenham businessman Gavin Barnett alleges he was “tackled” to the ground by supermarket employees when he “mistakenly” left the store without paying for his bottle of cider.
The 51-year-old, who says he has suffered with poor mental health since losing his business during the pandemic, visited the Morrisons at West Cepen Way on June 15.
He entered his local store to buy one bottle of Rattler cider, worth just a few pounds, after drinking at a local pub.
But he claims he was accosted by staff as he walked towards the exit, after “becoming confused at the checkout” and mistakenly believing his card payment had gone through.
He said: “That’s my local store, and I did exactly the same as I do most days, but as I walked out I got floored because I got confused at the checkout.
“I’ve never thieved anything in my life, I left my card and cash on the self-checkout by mistake, what kind of thief does that?”
During the altercation Mr Barnett claims he fell to the floor and suffered an injury to his knee, which has since required surgery.
He is now recovering from the incident and says the injury causes him constant pain.
“Now I’ve got a broken kneecap that needed to be operated on and there is a chance I’ll never walk correctly again”, he said.
“I was just getting my life back together and now I can’t work or find a job, I’ve got months of physio ahead of me, and I’m in constant agony which stops me from sleeping.”
Mr Barnett added that he has requested to see the CCTV from the incident but has been denied access to it.
Police confirmed they were called to the supermarket and subsequently carried out an investigation that led to no further action against either party.
A spokesperson for the force said: “On June 15 we were called to an incident at Morrisons in Chippenham after a man reported he had been assaulted after being challenged by security in relation to a concern regarding shoplifting.
“Enquiries have been conducted which involved the gathering of CCTV footage of the incident and the investigation has been closed with no further action. No arrests were made.”
Morrisons was contacted for comment but did not respond.
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