A WOMAN was “left in tears” after being injured trying to leave the Asda superstore in Llandudno.

Lucy Cousins, from Llandudno, was at the Conway Road Asda superstore on September 30 when her trolley came to a sudden stop near the exit.

Ms Cousins, who has “many health issues” including two slipped discs and endometriosis, felt “sudden pain” in her back when the security measure triggered the alarm and prompted a security guard to confront her.

The security guard then checked her receipt from the items she had just purchased, and let her leave the store.

“The sudden pain in my back hit instantly and the alarms suddenly going off scared me,” said Ms Cousins.

“The man came to look at my receipt - which only proved I’d paid for something as all my shopping was in bags.

“I told him how much it hurt and he agreed that it was painful when it happened - he indicated a warning sign to the side of the door behind a product display.”

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The incident stems from a security system which can cause the wheels of shopping trolleys to lock.

After being “left in tears and unable to stand upright”, Ms Cousins now fears she has done more damage to her back, and is seeing a physiotherapist.

She said: “It’s happening to so many people - I was told that they have improved the in store signage and I have now seen the signs but I was looking for it - I don’t think you’d see it otherwise.

“Overall, the response from Asda was mixed.

“The in-store staff didn’t seem to care when it happened but the stand-in store manager who I spoke to on the phone was pleasant and said the trolley might be faulty.

“The response from someone else at the store told to me via customer service was that the trolley was definitely not faulty and I felt I wasn’t believed at that point.

“I’m hoping that the pain this has caused is brief and eases off, but I’m terrified it’s done some damage.”

Ms Cousins added that Asda’s customer service department had been helpful, and had passed on her concerns to their legal department.

An Asda spokesperson said: “The trolley-lock system is designed to prevent trolleys being taken out of the store without passing through a payment zone such as a till or the self-service checkouts first.

“All stores equipped with this technology have clear signage informing customers of this system.

“We always want customers to have a positive experience when shopping with us and we have apologised to Ms Cousins for her experience at our Llandudno store."