A Carlisle family were forced to abandon a weekly shop worth more than £100 after being refused a single bottle of alcohol by staff.

Wendy Bolton visited the Tesco Superstore in Carlisle on Monday, March 11, with her 28-year-old son Billy, and two of her other children, aged 13 and 14. 

While scanning the items, the Tesco cashier requested ID from all three of her children for the bottle of vodka that was included in their shop. 

Billy explained that the two children were underage, so the alcohol wasn't for them, and that they didn't have any form of ID.

Speaking to the News & Star, Billy said: "I explained to the supervisor that they were 13 and 14, so what ID were they going to have? They are very clearly underage, we brought them with us because we weren't going to leave them at home or in the car.

"I had my ID, and so did my mum - if they wanted to see a 53-year-old's ID.

"I asked to see the manager and they went away for quite a while. I've worked in supermarkets for the last nine years and I hold a personal license, so I know what the rules are.

"The manager came back and said it is their policy, because they sometimes have test purchases. I said that I completely understand that if I didn't have my ID they couldn't serve me but when there's two people that are clearly very underage that have no link at all to any kind of alcohol and we have a full shop with us, it's just absolutely stupid.

"She couldn't explain what the policy was."

Eventually, the Bolton family agreed to leave their whole shop behind them, and visited Marks & Spencer instead. 

Tesco refused to comment, but outlined its 'Think 25' policy which states that if a customer's age cannot be verified, they can refuse a sale. 

This also applies to 'proxy sales' where the customer is believed to be buying the alcohol for someone else.

Billy concluded: "I've seen lots of situations in my time working but never have I seen someone refuse to serve alcohol or age-restricted items to a family with children."