A ROW over whether Marks and Spencer cafe staff were right to call security on a pensioner who was eating a biscuit she had bought in the store has hit the headlines worldwide. But is the situation a case of bureaucracy gone mad, or a grandmother who ignored the very British traditions of polite obedience of the rules?

THE story of 86-year-old Thelma Williams has been re-told in every British national newspaper, as well as publications in New York and Australia, since our report on Monday.

The grandmother, of Sudell, Darwen, was confronted by security in Blackburn’s Marks and Spencer cafe after eating a biscuit which she had earlier bought in the store. The move breached their policy on only eating food purchased in the cafe itself. But the problem could have been avoided if a little common sense had been shown, according to local trade chiefs.

And a leading expert on British etiquette from Debrett’s in London said the row show-ed the strict nature of confor-ming to the rules in eating establishments in the UK.

Mrs Williams said she was made to feel like a ‘common criminal’ in the incident.

But her mistake was to not observe the rules, said Jo Bryant, an adviser from modern etiquette experts Debrett’s.

She said: “There are two ways of looking at this. It is polite and well mannered to observe the rules and many people would tend to respect the regulations of the premises.

“But it is extremely bad manners to embarrass and humiliate someone in public and cause a scene. It is a very British trait to toe the line and respect the rules, as it is to enforce the rules to their letter. This is something that possibly would not happen to such an extent elsewhere in the world.”

George Heys, from Burnley Chamber of Trade, said his members would be astonished to hear of the row. He said: “The rules are in place to be observed, but I think the staff should have turned a blind eye. What harm was it doing? Now I am sure they have lost a customer for life, along with her family.

“It is such a trivial matter and the situation could have been easily avoided.

“If it was a small shop, or cafe, I think the staff could have dealt with it immediately, but at big companies the staff understand the rules and know that they could get in trouble themselves if they do not enforce them.”

The National Post in Canada reported yesterday on ‘Grand-mother caught in cookie crackdown’, while the Australian HeraldSun said ‘Marks & Spencer threatens granny for eating cookie’.

The Guardian’s Hilary Osborne yesterday blogged ‘Marks and Spencer takes the biscuit’, adding: “The tale has some great ingredients – a high-street institution, a wronged pensioner and a biscuit.”

Marks and Spencer have now apologised for the way the incident was handled.

An M&S spokesman said: “Our policy is that cafe customers must only consume items bought in the cafe area. We are sorry for any distress caused to the customer.”