Angry shoppers confronted a security guard who ordered a blind man with a guide dog to leave a shopping centre.

Bluewater has since apologised for the incident in which a man in his 30s was asked to leave the centre on Saturday, and say staff are receiving extra training.

Among those who defended the dog owner was Pauline Letchford, who began videoing after the man was asked to leave.

A security guard orders a man with a guide dog to leave Bluewater. Video: Pauline Letchford

Mrs Letchford had been out with her family for a meal and was walking through the shopping centre when she realised what was happening.

"This young man was just with his guide dog," she said.

"His wife was going into shops - we noticed the dog because it was so beautiful - she would say 'wait here I'm going into a shop'.

"He just stood by the barrier and never took the dog into a shop.

"The security guard started to follow them and then said 'you've got to leave, you can't have a dog in here.'

"People immediately jumped in and he said 'right, there's a crowd, I'm getting back up'. He was an idiot.

"The young man was so humiliated - he said 'is he for real?'

"He said 'I'm carrying on shopping, if you want to call the police, you can' and he walked off."

In Mrs Letchford's video a woman can also be heard saying to the guard "you do know they're allowed everywhere?"

A statement from Bluewater said: "Assistance dogs are and always have been welcome at Bluewater.

"We are aware of an incident where a guest was mistakenly asked to leave with their assistance dog.

"We have been in touch with the guest in question directly and have apologised unreservedly for this error.

"As a result of the incident, urgent re-training of the security team has taken place to prevent a similar situation in the future."