Supermarket refused to sell alcohol to grandmother - because she couldn't prove she was over 18

Tina MacNaughton-Jones at first thought the checkout girl was joking when she demanded that she produce ID.

When the over-zealous worker refused to give in, however, Mrs MacNaughton-Jones's 22-year-old daughter Fiona produced her driver's licence and tried to buy the bottle.

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But she too was turned down over fears that she would pass the alcohol on to her mother.

Describing her conversation with the checkout girl at the Waitrose supermarket in Worthing, West Sussex, Mrs Mac-Naughton-Jones said: "I said to her, 'Are you having a laugh?' and we had a good chuckle about it.

"But then I realised she was being serious.

"I turned to my daughter and said, 'This is my daughter, so how can I not be over 18?' and my daughter said, 'This is my mum'.

"But she was insistent she was not going to serve me. It was not as if she was a new girl or anything either - she was in her early 40s.

"When my daughter gave her some ID to prove she was over 18, it got even more ridiculous. In the end I just said, 'forget it' and went to Threshers instead.

"It was more of an annoyance than anything really, because it was late on a Friday night and I just wanted to get some food, a drink and go home."

Mrs MacNaughton-Jones, a dog behaviorist, returned the next day to speak to the manager, but was given only a token apology.

She added: "She did not seem too bothered and said that all she could do was apologise - which is not very sincere, is it?

"It is a shop which I go in most weeks so should know my face. The whole episode just seems farcical and I have not been back since.

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"My family and friends say I should be flattered, but it is easy to say that when you're not there. Everybody was turning and looking at me and that was the last thing I wanted."

Mrs MacNaughton-Jones, who was wearing a a leather jacket, jeans and a casual jumper at the time, added: "People often say I look younger than my age, which is nice, but I am sure they mean I look in my thirties.

"No way can I pass off for a teenager - let alone someone who is under 18.

"I can understand staff wanting to be vigilant to teenagers who look around the legal age, but this was just plain silly."

Waitrose has since apologised.

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Spokesman James Armstrong said: "We work hard to ensure we only sell alcohol to those who are entitled to buy it. However, on this occasion, it appears we were a little over-zealous."

Traders selling alcohol have been extra vigilant since the introduction of the 2005 Licensing Act.

Licence-holders caught selling alcohol to children can now be fined £10,000 and banned for three months, while individual staff can be fined £5,000.