A dad says he felt “humiliated” after his free school meal scheme vouchers were rejected at a Morrisons store.

Liam Barnard, from Evenden Road, Meopham, is an unpaid carer for his nine-year-old daughter, meaning he is unable to work and as a result is eligible for Edenred free meal vouchers during the school holidays.

On Friday, August 11, Liam went to Gravesend Morrisons, which he uses regularly, to do a grocery shop.

He planned to use £60 worth of Edenred vouchers there. People who are eligible for free meal vouchers are sent an e-code which they then enter onto Edenred’s website to exchange for supermarket vouchers in advance of their shop.

But when he got to the till at the store in Coldharbour Road, Northfleet, the Edenred Morrisons vouchers did not work.

He said: “After an embarrassing few attempts at a neighbouring till, in front of disgruntled customers, I was told they didn’t work even when typing in the numbers.

“I was told to phone Morrisons customer services by the store manager – in full public view – which I did, and the agent told me the vouchers were entirely valid and had not been spent.

“I then told the cashier and got them to speak on the phone to their own company’s customer services agent.

“I was then taken over to the customer services desk in the store, in full public view, and the manager of the store spoke to the agent on the phone and said there was nothing he could do.

“It made me feel helpless and quite embarrassed. We’re all vulnerable people anyway and I was made to feel more vulnerable having to explain why I’m on the vouchers while people were watching.”

Liam’s daughter goes to a local special needs school and has multiple disabilities.

Caring for her and taking her to regular appointments at Great Ormond Street Hospital means he is unable to hold down a job, and he is the sole carer for her as her mother also has disabilities.

The 49-year-old himself has a chromosomal disorder that requires him to take 17 tablets every day.

He continued: “I had to go to customer services and the security guards saw this all happening and they thought I was causing trouble and it was quite intimidating.

“To then be told no one could do anything to help, it made me feel a bit belittled. I felt almost criminalised.

“These vouchers have been going on for about three years now. You’d think the staff would have seen them before.

“The manager said the store did take them and told the cashier how to do it but it didn’t work. No one wanted to help me.

“Edenred said the vouchers are still valid so they’re passing the buck back to Morrisons.

“I was then forced to pay for my shopping without the vouchers and I felt humiliated in front of other shoppers.

“It’s disgraceful that nobody seems willing to sort this out, and being expected to stand there and argue a point in full public gaze is an invasion of privacy.

“The vouchers have always worked in Tesco but Morrisons is closer so I went there this time. I’m now in possession of £60 of worthless Morrisons vouchers that I cannot now spend at another retailer.”

A Morrisons spokesman said: "We are making contact with the customer so we can fully investigate the matter."