| The 72-year-old woman, who asked to remain anonymous, was approached by a man asking her for money towards petrol at around 7.15pm on Tuesday in the car park at Asda Milton.
She said she believed that if it was not for another customer in the car park who stopped to make sure she was OK that the man may have targeted her handbag.
Tayside Police today confirmed officers had dealt with complaints of intimidating behaviour at the Milton of Craigie Retail Park and that anyone causing fear or alarm to shoppers would face serious consequences.
The elderly woman said, “I was very frightened when I was approached by the man.
“I couldn’t see a lot because it was quite dark but I was very startled and he caught me off guard.
“He asked me for a pound, saying he just needed enough money for petrol to get home but I said no.
“Luckily, another young man who was getting out of his car stopped to make sure I was OK and the man who had asked me for money went away.
“He saw that I got back to my own car OK because he said he had been suspicious when I had been stopped.
“When I got back into my car, I almost burst into tears. I’m always careful about parking close to the shop but now I don’t know if I want to do my shopping at night alone again.”
Another reader also contacted the Tele about a similar incident in the car park at the Kingsway West Retail Park branch of Tesco on Saturday afternoon.
He said a young man approached several drivers asking if they could spare him enough money so he and his sister could purchase petrol to drive their car home.
A spokesperson from Asda Milton said they were aware of a man asking customers for money in the car park and had notified the police about the situation.
However, he added staff had no reason to believe the man was in any way violent and that customers should not feel unsafe when attending the store.
A spokesperson from Tesco said the Kingsway store was monitored by CCTV and that there were security guards on duty 24-hours a day.
She added, “The safety of our customers is a priority and if they feel in any way threatened we would encourage them to approach a member of staff.”
A spokeswoman for Tayside Police said they were aware of the situation and were working alongside local retailers to tackle any future issues.
“We received two calls on Monday concerning a man begging in the Milton of Craigie Retail Park car park,” she said.
“Officers attended and spoke to the individual involved. He was warned about his behaviour and moved on.”
She added, “The local liaison officers work closely with the retailers to address these issues and they are quick to inform us of this type of activity.”
“If any individual was found to be causing fear or alarm to any shoppers by their actions, we would not hesitate to use powers under the Antisocial Behaviour Act to deal with them.
“Anyone who has any concerns regarding this should get in touch with us on 0300 111 2222.” |
