Why did Morrisons refuse to sell this man a party popper?
Andy O'Neill, a 32-year old dad from Kilburn in Derbyshire, was stunned when he tried to buy party poppers for a family get-together. The staff at Morrisons in Belper, Derby, refused to sell them to him - because he couldn't prove he was over 16.
He told the Daily Mail that he initially tied to put his purchases through the self-checkout, and it flagged up to staff that they had to confirm his age. When he couldn't produce ID, the staff member refused to let him buy them, and when he took his party poppers to a manned checkout, she followed him and told the cashier not to serve him.
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A Morrisons spokesperson told the newspaper that the store policy was to challenge anyone who looks under 25 to produce ID. They added that ensuring age-restricted products weren't purchased by younger people was a difficult responsibility, and that as a result cashiers sometimes erred on the side of caution.
Not alone
Andy may be wondering what kind of damage he was meant to have inflicted with a party popper - and just how he could look less than half his age. However, he might take a small amount of comfort from the fact this is far from the most bizarre cashier decision when it comes to age restrictions. Here are five of our favourites:
1. There are a couple of contenders for the title of the oldest person ever to be asked for ID to buy alcohol. In November 2013 a 92-year-old was asked for ID in order to buy vodka at Tesco.
2. Two years earlier, a woman of the same age in Harlow was asked for proof of her age in order to buy whisky. In both cases they couldn't come up with the right ID, so they were refused.
3. Proof of age has been asked for some odd items too. In August 2013 a 33-year-old was asked for ID in her local hardware shop in Romsey in Hampshire, so she could purchase a potential offensive weapon. At the time she was trying to by a fly swat.
4. And in 2009, a 21-year-old was asked for ID when she tried to buy teaspoons in Tesco in Evesham.
5. Finally in February this year, a 37-year-old woman was told she needed age verification to buy a pot of fruit from Tesco. She asked a cashier why, and was told that there was a risk it could ferment in the pot - producing alcohol. However, when she posted her story on the Facebook page, the company apologised and said it had been a joke.
