The Portman Group/Drinkaware

@Miriam. It happened to me too a few years ago in another well known supermarket when my children were younger. I have recently been in accompanied by my 17 and 19 year olds and bought a bottle of prosecco without question! Clearly different times, different check-out staff, different rules.

Beware all mothers hoping to buy a bottle of rose in Waitrose! I am a disgruntled 40(ish) year old mother of two who was stopped from buying a bottle of rose wine in my local Waitrose store (at 5pm and no, I had not been drinking!) because I had my 13 year old daughter with me in her school uniform. At no point did I indicate I was buying the wine for her, and I gave the cashier my driving licence for the avoidance of doubt - yet the cashier, supervisor AND manager (they said she was the manager, turns out it wasn't at all, as the manager is a man, even though I expressly asked to speak to the manager), all said that unless I could provide ID for my daughter to prove she was over 18, I couldn't buy the wine, because she was standing beside me. The supervisor responded by saying 'Go for it!' when I asked to speak to the manager when it became clear that my protestations were falling on deaf ears. The 'manager' eventually allowed me to buy the wine, together with the rest of my shopping, after lecturing me on the dangers of giving alcohol to children, in a very loud voice with all of the customers watching. Slightly patronising and embarrassing. This was not before two customers offered to come to my rescue, and kindly said they would buy the wine for me. Mortified. I appreciate Challenge 25 is there to protect children and stop anti-social behaviour but as a respectably dressed middle aged teacher, surely I can indulge in a Friday night glass of wine without being made to feel like a criminal? The customer service team at Waitrose just regurgitated the Challenge 25 rules to me, so no joy there. They are obviously so terrified of mistakenly selling alcohol illegally and getting a massive fine that they are prepared to throw all common sense out of the window. Shall I hide my children behind the bins outside Waitrose every time I need to buy anything alcohol related? Honestly, it's enough to drive you to drink. Frankly, I would love an excuse to leave my children at home to avoid bringing them to the supermarket, but it is not always possible. Beware all mothers! Your Friday night G and T is being threatened...