A fuming mother has slammed B&M for "ruining her birthday" after they refused to sell her alcohol while she was with her 14-year-old daughter.

Emma Izzard, from East Peckham, was celebrating her 44th birthday with family when she visited the budget chain at Canon Lane Retail Park in Tonbridge for more drinks.

Having forgotten to take £1 for a trolley and filled up her basket, she asked her 14-year-old daughter Isabelle to hold a small box of VK alcopops.

But when she got to the till staff refused to serve her unless her daughter could provide ID.

Emma fumed: "She placed it on the conveyor belt and immediately the cashier asked for identification.

"I interrupted and said 'it's not hers, it's mine', and explained how I couldn't carry any more and she was helping me.

"They said 'unless she has ID we can't sell it'. I explained once again they weren't selling it to her and it was for me but they still said 'no'."

The angered mum then ditched the box of alcohol her daughter was carrying and asked the cashier to process what was in her basket, but she was still denied service.

She claims she was told by staff she would have to wait 24 hours before she could try and buy alcohol from the store again.

"I was completely embarrassed and upset," she told KentOnline.

"Never before have I been refused alcohol. This was in front a very crowded B&M on a Saturday afternoon and I was humiliated and made to feel like I had an alcohol problem or that I condone underage drinking and was a bad mum.

"I felt so bad it ruined my weekend and I had to turn up to my own birthday party without any drinks to celebrate."

'I was humiliated and made to feel like I had an alcohol problem...'

The Tonbridge mum contacted the store to ask them to explain their decision following the incident - on Friday, August 19 - but says she wasn't given a "satisfactory" answer.

"I asked if I had had the £1 coin for a trolley and my daughter helped unload the alcohol on to the conveyor belt, would I have still been refused all of the alcohol? But they didn’t answer.

"What if my disabled mother had been at the shops with my daughter and it was the same scenario? Would they have refused to sell the alcohol to my mother as my daughter carried the alcohol? If so, this is a matter of discrimination.

"I completely understand they have rules and they follow the under 25 policy, but I feel there should be some common sense that goes along with this policy and if it is obvious and explained the reasons why an underage person carried and placed the alcohol at the till that they should use their own common sense skill-set and serve the customer that has the ID to prove their age.

"I am not happy with B&M stores, I feel they need more training in customer service."

B&M defended their staff's decision not to sell the alcohol, saying they acted "exactly as they should have".

A spokesman said: “B&M offer a Challenge 25 policy, as recommended by Trading Standards and local authorities for all age-restricted products.

"On this occasion, the store team had reason to believe that the alcohol was being purchased for the underage member of the party because she placed the alcohol on the till area.

"The store team can then reserve the right to request identification for all people present.

"Failure to be able to provide the requested identification, would, as in this case result in refusal of the sale.

"Once the decision has been made, it cannot be overridden. As always in these instances, the B&M store team have erred on the side of caution, acted exactly how they should and refused the sale due to a minor being involved.”

Challenge 25 is a strategy that encourages retailers to ask anyone who looks under 25 to carry acceptable ID to purchase age-restricted items, even when the legal age of selling them is lower.