A father who tried to buy six beers from a branch of Tesco was told that he could not be served because he had his teenage daughter with him.

A cashier told Dominic Zenden, 45, that he could not leave with the Budweiser bottles in case he gave any to his 15-year-old daughter, Devon.

Mr Zenden said that the alcohol was for his own consumption and he would not give any to the teenager but the cashier refused to back down and he left empty-handed from the store in Sprowston, near his home in Norwich.

Mr Zenden, who has worked as a spiritualist medium for 25 years, said: “I was dumbfounded. There was absolutely no indication that my daughter would be drinking the alcohol. It was for me. I fancied a nice cool beer on a warm evening. But the woman told me that they don’t sell alcohol to people who have children with them.”

A Tesco spokesman said that staff were entitled to ask for proof of age from anyone present when alcohol was being purchased if it was suspected that they might consume it. He added: “We are doing lots of work to try to stop under18s getting alcohol, and one of the biggest problems has become adults buying for people who are underage.

“If our staff suspect that people are doing so, then we do not serve them. Obviously there is an element of common sense involved in making that judgment. It is not a blanket ban.

“I can understand the frustrations of the customer but I think that any reasonable parent would understand the problem and support our policy.”

Consumer advice experts said that there was no legal reason why Mr Zenden should not have been served if he was of legal age, could prove this if asked, and did not seem intoxicated or impaired by alcohol.

Companies including Tesco have been clamping down on the sale of alcohol to those under the age of 18. Retailers who break the law face fines of up to £10,000 and the suspension of their licence.

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