A FATHER was refused wine with his family grocery shop at Sainsbury’s in Worle – because he was with his 16-year-old daughter.

Businessman Duncan Kingscott, aged 47, and his daughter Taylor were at the self check-out at the Queensway supermarket when an employee declined the alcohol sale because of the firm’s Think 25 policy.

But when the Priory Community School pupil returned to the store with her mother Alison Kingscott the next day, the sale of wine was approved and no questions were asked.

On complaining to the duty manager, Mrs Kingscott received an apology and was told the alcohol-selling policy was a ‘very grey area’.

The family, of Coulson Drive, told the Mercury this week they had been left confused by the ‘bizarre’ incident.

Mr Kingscott said: “I was so angry by the whole incident I left the store without the groceries - can’t I be helped by my daughter shopping without being refused alcohol?

“I’ve used the supermarket for the past 10 years and I’d never heard anything as ridiculous as this.

“And then to make the whole thing even more bizarre, my wife doesn’t get asked a question when buying wine with my daughter just a day later, where’s the consistency?”

A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said the supermarket took its responsibilities as a licensed retailer ‘very seriously’.

He said the Think 25 policy was operated to help prevent alcohol being sold to minors, but apologised to Mr Kingscott for the incident.

He said: “One of the most difficult parts of this policy is that our colleagues have a duty to prevent sales where an older person buys alcohol to pass to a minor.

“We would like to apologise to any customers who have been inconvenienced by this policy but we only do this because of our duty to act in a socially responsible manner.”

He added that members of staff can receive a criminal record or a large fine if they alcohol which is passed on to a child.