Supermarket Asda has promised an investigation after calling in police to deal with a customer who had used the store’s toilet.

Christopher Smith had stopped off at the chain’s Sittingbourne branch for some cigarettes when he was caught short.

Having asked the cashier if he could use the facilities, he was then reprimanded by a security guard for visiting the loo without having bought anything – and barred from the Mill Way store.

The unemployed landscaper said: “I asked a lady near the cigarette counter if I could use the toilet, to which she replied ‘of course you can’.

“After three or four minutes there was a knock at the door, it was the lady from the counter.

“She said there was someone who needed to use the toilet.

“I hurried up and finished, and I opened the door expecting to see a person waiting to go in, but there wasn’t anybody.”

As he walked towards the kiosk, Mr Smith said the security guard stepped in and said the toilets were for customers only.

Despite explaining he had permission and intended to buy some cigarettes, the 31-year-old from Kemsley said the security guard called over his managers which left him “completely embarrassed”.

A red-faced Mr Smith said he wanted to make a complaint – which is when police were called.

Mr Smith said: “I wanted to make a formal complaint, but I couldn’t because I wasn’t able to find out the full names of the people involved.

“Because I asked too many questions I was told to leave or the police would be called.

“The police turned up and asked the security guard why he confronted me and he said nothing.”

Police confirmed officers visited the Mill Way store shortly after 5am following a “disturbance” and no offences were found to have been committed.

An Asda spokesman said: “All of our customers are welcome to use the facilities in our stores. Our colleagues would not call the police unless they felt the need to do so.”