A BATCHLEY shopkeeper has been left distraught after being wrongly accused of shoplifting.

Susan Finch, of Hawthorn Road, described the ordeal as her worst nightmare and vowed she would never visit the Kingfisher Shopping Centre again.

The 43 year old, who runs The Paper Shop on Poplar Road, with her husband, had been in Boots.

But she left empty-handed because she couldn't find what she wanted.

She said: "I went from Boots to Bodycare and I was in there a good five or 10 minutes before staff from Boots came in and asked me to go with them."

Her husband, Michael, 49, said: "They marched my wife back to an office in Boots and searched her to find nothing.

"Then they just said 'sorry, there had been a mistake'.

"My wife asked three times if she could contact me to pick her up and they said no.

"She was left outside the shop in a very distressed state.

"She was very embarrassed and there were customers of ours around. We are well-known people of the town.

"We are retailers and we understand security but this conduct was terrible."

Mrs Finch said: "It's the most awful situation anyone can go through. It's your worst nightmare and I couldn't believe it was happening to me."

The couple said they would be contacting their solicitor about the incident in the hope of getting some form of compensation.

He added: "My wife has said to me she will never be able to face going to the Kingfisher Centre again."

A spokesman for Boots said: "We are aware of the incident and we are very sorry for any inconvenience or upset caused to Mrs Finch.

"We were acting on another customer's alleged complaint.

"Our customer services department is speaking to Mrs Finch to try to resolve her concerns."