Aldi ban 85 year old 'hoodie'

German owned Aldi in Sparkbrook was opened in early 1990s.

This is a personal story concerning my late uncle, who lived in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham.

He passed away in 2008, aged nearly 90, but was active right up until his death, and would daily walk down to the paper shop to buy his Daily paper, and having returned home he would scan the racing pages and then return to the bookies with his daily 22p eachway Yankee (4 horses/dogs = 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 roll up =11 bets @ 1p each or each way = 22 bets).

My uncle was quite a good tipster. Well good enough to keep him in Sparkbrook!

Once a week, on pension days he would, with my cousin and his wife, walk to the Aldi supermarket, in Stratford Road, Sparkbrook.

Following several incidences of shop lifting robberies, the store started to put up a hand printed sign, on their front door.

"Would all customers remove hoods"

Well one Monday morning, back in January 2006 and shortly after the sign went up, when it was a dreadfully cold and rainy day, he went into the shop, this frail little man with a walking stick, and wearing his hood, to help keep him dry and warm.

Halfway down the first aisle, he was approach by a security guard, and in pigeon English was asked to remove his hood 'like it says on the door, oldie.'

Bearing in mind that 99% of the women in there were wearing burkhas or niqabs or hijabs, and that about 10% of the men were wearing turbans and 60% were wearing an Islamic toppi and most of the rest of the men were wearing a baseball cap, my uncle said, "No."

Speaking up for him, my cousin's wife said "he's old and cold and his head is bald" (another family poet!), and pointing out that everyone else were still wearing their head gear said "why is my father in law being picked upon by Aldi?"

She further rebuked the man for calling my uncle oldie.

The security guard then said, without any further debate, that all three of them were banned for not "removing a hood and for making racist remarks about the customers there."

The allegation was flatly denied and they left without causing any scenes of disquiet.

Since that day we have as a family, all tried to avoid shopping at any Aldi store.