Shop staff thought my colostomy bag was stolen trousers
NEXT SAYS SORRY AFTER DAD’S ‘PUBLIC SHAMING’
ADAD of two has spoken of his shock at being accused of trying to steal a pair of trousers by stuffing it up his jumper – when he was actually just holding his colostomy bag.
Lee Winters-Jones, 31, felt “publicly shamed” when confronted by an employee from Next.
The member of staff appears to have become suspicious after spotting Mr Winters-Jones clutching his stomach when walking around the shop.
Mr Winters-Jones, from Colwyn Bay, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, said: “We were only in Next for a couple of minutes. I did notice a guy had followed us down the stairs but I didn’t really think anything of it.
“After Next we walked to Marks & Spencer’s. I can only walk slowly and I’ve got a walking stick, but my free hand does tend to hold my colostomy bag – it’s a self conscious thing.”
After spending about 10 minutes in Prestatyn Marks & Spencer’s, Mr Winters-Jones says he was then confronted by the same man who had followed him at the Next store.
Mr Winters-Jones, who underwent a hernia operation two weeks ago, said: “He just came up to me and said that he had a reason to believe that I had stolen some suit trousers.
“I felt forced to show him that underneath my jumper was my colostomy bag, and I told him that he had discriminated against me. He denied this. He said a quick sorry, then he just walked off.
“It was a horrible experience. It was a public shaming and I hadn’t even done something.”
His angry mother went back to Next after the incident on Sunday and confronted a different member of staff who was very apologetic. Mr Winters-Jones added: “They have offered me compensation, £200 to start with which has gone up to £500, but this was never about the money.”
A spokesman for Next said: “We would like to pass on our sincere apologies for any distress caused to Mr Winters Jones. We are investigating this incident as a matter of urgency and liaising with the management team both at the store and head office to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”