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Man with dementia kicked out of Asda after forgetting his mask

Amanda Jeffrey and her husband Aubrey Green visited the Asda store on Front Street in Arnold on Thursday morning. (Reach)
Amanda Jeffrey and her husband Aubrey Green visited the Asda store on Front Street in Arnold on Thursday morning. (Reach)

ASDA has apologised to a woman after a staff member said her husband - who suffers from dementia - was not allowed in the store without a mask.

Amanda Jeffrey and her husband Aubrey Green visited the ASDA on Front Street in Arnold, Nottinghamshire on Thursday morning to buy some essentials.

The couple initially bought items from the store, but returned because Mrs Jeffrey forgot something and went back in.

But when they were queuing at the self-service checkout, Mrs Jeffrey claims a staff member “shouted” at her husband asking where his mask was.

Mr Jeffrey, 76, wears a sunflower lanyard around his neck which is there as a a discreet sign for store colleagues to see that he has a hidden disability and is exempt from wearing a mask.

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When Mrs Jeffrey, 49, told the staff member that her husband had a lanyard she was told that he needed a medical letter.

Asda on Front Street in Arnold. (Google Maps)
Asda on Front Street in Arnold. (Google Maps)

The couple were then asked to leave the store.

"He is in the later stages now, and he does not understand the rules," she told Nottinghamshire Live.

"I could spend five minutes in the shop and would have to keep reminding him to keep a distance - that's why we try to go at quieter times.

"If you don't live with dementia, it's hard to understand. But it's bad enough having to go through it, you shouldn't have to justify it as well."

Read more: Sainsbury's accused of exploiting 'loophole' to keep Argos open

Mrs Jeffrey says that Asda did apologise and offered her a gift voucher.

Yahoo news has contacted Asda for comment.

Birmingham, England - March 14, 2011: Asda sign on storefront. Asda is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, toys and general merchandise. Asda became a subsidiary of the American retail giant Wal-Mart, the world\'s largest retailer in 1999.
The supermarket giant apologised to Mrs Jeffrey and said that medical exemption letters are not part of their policy. (Getty)

The supermarket giant told Nottinghamshire Live that medical exemption letters are not part of their policy.

In August, ASDA said that “more than 1,000 Asda colleagues have taken part in awareness training to help them understand the needs of customers with dementia and autism”, in a post on their website.

Read more: The coronavirus and people with disabilities: WHO highlights this high-risk group

Recent research by disability charity Scope found that disabled shoppers face a “triple whammy” of a higher infection risk, the strain of inaccessible measures like having to stand in long queues, as well as other people’s negative attitudes

A survey of 585 disabled adults found that a quarter faced negative attitudes from other shoppers and one in seven reported facing negative attitudes from supermarket staff.