Grandmother, 79, speaks out after being banned from every branch of Sainsbury's and Argos in the UK

A granda has spoken out after being handed a lifetime ban from every Sainsbury's store in the UK following what the supermarket says was 'a number of incidents over time'.

Rita Seymour, 79, says she was left feeling 'like a criminal' after being told she could no longer shop at the retailer she had visited every week for years.

The great-grandmother, who hails from Hook in Hampshire, claims the ban came after a disagreement while she was trying to buy a Euromillions Lottery ticket at her local supermarket branch.

According to Seymour, she'd already paid for her weekly shop, which she says usually comes to between £80 and £100, before heading to the kiosk for a lottery ticket.

She claims she had to ask for a lottery ticket multiple times before a member of staff responded.

She also claims staff were then called over and accused her of insulting staff and 'pinching' her shopping before she was escorted out of the store.

A 79-year-old great-grandmother has spoken out after being banned from every Sainsbury's and Argos branch in the UK (Mike Kemp / Contributor / Getty Images)

Seymour also claims a member of staff attempted to photograph her during the confrontation.

“She went to take a picture of me, and I pushed her camera out of her face,” she said.

“I said ‘I’ve done nothing wrong here, you’re not taking pictures of me’.

“She was flinging her arms about.”

When she returned to the store the following day, Seymour says she was stopped at the entrance and handed a letter informing her she had been banned from all Sainsbury's and Argos stores nationwide.

Sainsbury's said the decision was made following multiple incidents and was taken to protect both customers and staff.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "We want everyone to feel welcome when they shop with us and our colleagues work hard to create a positive in-store experience.

"We take any form of abusive and inappropriate behaviour seriously, and following a number of incidents over time, a decision was taken to withdraw this individual’s right to shop at our Hook store.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson has addressed Seymour's claims (SWNS)

"This action was not taken lightly, but the safety and wellbeing of colleagues and customers always come first."

Seymour, whose husband is disabled, denies there were any previous incidents.

"I’m not that sort of person, I never cause trouble, I never do any trouble – they’re saying it to get out of everything," Seymour said. "I want to clear my name."

The ban means Seymour now has to walk around 20 minutes to her nearest Tesco instead of making the five-minute trip to her local Sainsbury's, which she says is 'too far away'.

The mum-of-one, grandmother-of-four and great-grandmother-of-two added: “I’m not interested in money, but I live five minutes away from the shop and I would like this ban lifted."

Tyla has reached out to Sainsbury's for further comment.