Tesco have apologised to a mother who said she was ‘offended’ after she was approached by a member of staff who accused her son of stealing a mobile phone.

Paola Baker, who lives in Wimbledon Chase, was leaving the store on Kingston Road at the end of last month when she claims a member of staff ‘bluntly’ accused her son of having stolen the phone a couple of days before when he visited the store with her.

However, Mrs Baker claims that she did not visit the shop with her son on the day the staff accused her of and was deeply shocked and upset to be publicly offended without evidence.

She said: "I was on my way out of Tesco when a member of staff asked me a question at the time I had to pick up my daughter from school at 5pm so it was not exactly the best time to stop me.

"He then quite bluntly accused me, or rather my son of having stolen a mobile phone. I have very strong principles and this has been deeply offensive for me and my whole family."

She claims that immediately after the incident she called Tesco customer service and emailed head office and was told they would investigate the matter.

Mrs Baker also says her husband later watched the CCTV footage of the incident at the store but the boy in the video had blonde hair who could not be mistaken for her son.

And she claims the store made the mistake of assuming the woman was her at the time.

Mrs Baker said: “I have been living in the neighbourhood for more than 15 years and this Tesco is my local one, but I no longer feel comfortable shopping in this specific Tesco anymore!”

“The member of staff's behaviour towards me was completely unprofessional and the way the matter was conducted was totally offensive.

"I am still waiting for the manager to offer me an apology and I have the right to express my discontent towards an unacceptable behaviour.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “We always aim to deliver the highest levels of customer service, however it is clear on this occasion that we have fallen short of this.

“We are sorry for any offence caused to Mrs Baker and will be contacting her directly to apologise.”