A GREAT grandfather was booted out of Tesco Express in Upper Gornal for refusing to take off his flat cap.

Graham Cattermole was approached by an overzealous security guard as he headed into the Kent Road store with his wife Christine on Tuesday evening to pick up some groceries.

The 64-year-old hadn't even had chance to start his shopping before he was told to remove his headwear.

The electrician, who is just a year off retirement, said: "He told me that I couldn't come in unless I took off my cap.

"It's totally stupid - just laughable. If I had a crash helmet on or I was wearing a hoody and looked like a hooligan, I could understand but I'm nearly 65 and I've got a walking stick - it's not like I'm going to hold the place up!"

He continued: "I've worn a hat in there many times - it's usually a trilby I wear - and I've never had anyone approach me. We'll never go there again now."

However a Tesco spokesman said the security guard, who was new to the store, had "implemented our policy on no hoodies or crash helmets incorrectly", adding: "We would like to apologise to our customer for the inconvenience caused and our store manager would be happy to welcome the customer into store to discuss the matter with them."

The spokesman said the security guard had now been retrained.