Anger as purse lost down escalator in Fareham Tesco leaves Ann empty-handed

Ann Burgess from Fareham was starting her weekly shop with her daughter at Tesco on Quay Street when her daughter accidentally dropped Ann's purse between the two escalators that take customers from the car park to the store.

Ann said: '˜There is a five-inch gap and my daughter just accidentally dropped it while holding it for me and so we went to speak to one of the managers to explain what happened.

'˜They didn't seem that bothered but said they would get an engineer out to have a look to see if they could get it.'

Ann was later informed that it would not be possible to retrieve her Radley purse, which had been a gift with a matching handbag from her husband, from between the escalators.

She said: '˜I thought it was outrageous that they could not get it back and it seems a feeble attempt. Luckily there was not much money in it but for me the purse is special. 

'˜Surely if they need to do maintenance then they would need to have access and it also begs the question if they can not access it then why is there a five-inch gap where people could easily drop items through it.'

Ann got in touch with the central Tesco team about compensation for her purse which cost £80 as well as the cost of replacing all the cards and the cash inside.

She added: '˜They said they would not compensate me and so I am rather unhappy with the way this situation has been handled.

'˜They also have not confirmed if they intend to do anything about the gap because I don't want anyone else to drop something precious such as a wedding ring down there.'

A Tesco spokesperson said: '˜Unfortunately, following an inspection of the escalator by our engineers, we have been advised that it is not possible to retrieve Ms Burgess' purse.

'˜This is an unfortunate and unusual incident, and we are sorry that Ms Burgess was unhappy with the service she received.

'˜Our store manager will be contacting Ms Burgess directly to discuss her concerns and offer a gesture of goodwill.'