AN OAP who suffered a diabetic attack at Tesco was stopped from getting his medication by a suspicious security guard while rushing out of the supermarket.

Patrick Hills, 74, was detained after an alarm was set off – even though he explained he urgently needed to get to his car for his emergency medical kit.

He was shopping with wife Rosemary, 73, when he suddenly felt ill and needed an urgent sugar boost.

The couple quickly left the store but were stopped by a security man who said an alarm had been set off.

And Patrick was held at the shop entrance despite showing the receipt for the radio he had bought and insisting he needed to leave to take his medication.

The desperate retired builder revealed he also asked the guard to fetch him some food only to be told that this was not allowed.

Patrick said he was kept outside the packed Kilverstone store near Thetford, Norfolk, for about five minutes as the drama drew a crowd of shoppers.

The OAP, of Bridgham, Norfolk, said: “My wife had paid the bill but, as I got to the main entrance, I was grabbed by the arm and apprehended for the wireless I’d got.

“I said, ‘Please don’t stop me because I have got to get to my emergency kit in my car’. I pleaded several times to let me go and this was in front of several people.”

He added: “My receipt didn’t carry any weight at all. They seemed set on searching me.” The alarm was set off by a security tag in the radio box. After he was finally let go, Patrick acted quickly to stabilise his low blood glucose levels in the nick of time after the hypoglycaemia attack caused by his diabetes.

When the furious pensioner complained to the supermarket, he was offered a £20 store voucher.

Patrick rejected the offer and urged the company to send a “substantial sum” to two charities, Help for Heroes and Comic Relief.

He was then sent £100 with a letter suggesting he donate all or part of the sum to charity.

Patrick has now called for a change in policy which would allow a member of staff to fetch food for diabetics.

A Tesco spokesman commented: “We appreciate Mr Hills’ concerns and will continue to look into this matter.”

Mr Hills added that he was still struggling to recover from the traumatic incident at the superstore.

“I get flashbacks with this which keeps coming back and I just hope it’ll go away. I keep busy and active and that’s how I deal with it.

“But there’s no way I would go in that store again.

“Even if I see a Tesco van it makes me think about what happened.

“There’s no money that can compensate for what I’ve been through.

“I’ve got a blemish-free record and at the end of my life they’ve treated me like a criminal. I am deeply upset by it.”