Mother Outraged After Children Accused of Stealing at Shinfield Lidl

We are awaiting a formal response from Lidl

A Shinfield mother has spoken out after claiming her children were wrongly accused of stealing while shopping at the Lidl store on Thursday, October 2.

Tasha Smith, a local resident, said she visited the store with her children, who often enjoy browsing the aisles. She alleges that a female member of staff confronted her children and accused them of theft without cause.

Tasha Smith is furious over the incident

“I went into Lidl yesterday (Thursday 02.10.2025) with my children, who like to walk around and have a mooch,” Tasha said. “They were greeted by a woman who works there and were straight away accused of stealing. My children are in there all the time, always polite to staff and security. The woman was so rude to them. The manager even searched my children — is this allowed?

Of course, they found nothing on them because they had money on their bank cards. I’m absolutely fuming. When I spoke to the woman and the manager, they said other children run in and out stealing things. The joke of it is, I was in the shop doing my shopping at the same time. They then had the cheek to ban us from the shop. My son that was one of the children has SEN needs.  ADHD/autism”

Tasha says the experience has left her upset and questioning the way the situation was handled.

In response, a spokesperson for Lidl told Shinfield News:

“We’re obviously concerned to hear about these claims and will be investigating with the store to establish the facts. Unfortunately, due to your email reaching us out of hours, it may take a little longer to be able to come back to you with a full response. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.”

The incident has sparked discussion among local residents about customer treatment and the responsibilities of both staff and shoppers.

Shinfield News will provide an update once Lidl’s investigation has concluded.