CCTV hunt for shop yobs

The move comes after a black woman was racially abused at a checkout and a councillor threatened as she waited to pay.

Calls have now been made to improve security at Asda in Hollingbury, Brighton.

Councillor Anne Meadows, who suffered the latest ordeal, was so shocked by the abuse she is refusing to shop there again until security is improved.

She was at the checkout in the Crowhurst Road store when she was subjected to the attack by three men and a woman as she took her purse out to pay for her shopping.

Two men pushed past her and stood at the bottom of the checkout while another man stood right behind her, almost looking over her shoulder.

She said: "I asked the man to stop crowding me. He was really close and I felt intimidated. The next thing I was getting a torrent of abuse.

"They threatened me and used the most terrible language and abuse. Then a woman came along and joined in."

Coun Meadows, who represents Moulsecoomb ward on Brighton and Hove City Council, said she had been abused in the line of duty as a councillor, and was used to hearing foul language, but she thought she was going to be attacked physically.

She reported the incident to senior staff.

Just days before, as reported here, mum Kaltum Rivers, of Patcham, complained to staff and police after being racially abused during a lunchtime shop.

When she questioned a man who tried to jump the queue, he told her: "go back to your own country" and then called her names.

Mrs Rivers said: "I was really scared. He started intimidating me but nobody wanted to help."

Store manager John Ponsford said he employed five full-time members of staff for security.

He said: "We have 60,000 customers every week. It's unfortunate there have been these two incidents, when in the past two years we haven't had any problems of this nature."

Mr Ponsford said CCTV cameras monitored the store and would be used to identify those customers causing problems.