A mother defending her son from an aggressive Lidl manager in Sidcup was thrown into a bush, according to a governor at a nearby school.

The mother was with her son on the way to the Hope Community School in Sidcup in the morning of March 3 and stopped at the Lidl next to the school.

Mel Foreman is a parent governor at the Hope Community School and she said that it shocked the close-knit community at the school.

She said: “We as a school are 150 sets of parents that regularly shop in this store as it's so close to us. This incident has traumatised us all, particularly the children who witnessed it.

“In my opinion an assault on one of us in an assault on all of us.”

The incident involved a mother of eight year old twins. She was shopping at Lidl on the way to school and when she was left the store she heard her son shouting.

Ms Foreman said: “She turned around to find the manager, who is well over six foot tall, grappling with her eight-year-old attempting to take the guitar asking if he'd taken in. Keeping in mind they do not sell guitars.

“The mum intervened and the resulting tussle ended with her in a bush.

“The problem here as I believe is there is a serious issue around the aggressive nature of the staff in this location.”

A spokesperson from Lidl said: “We always strive to achieve the highest standards of customer service and were disappointed to hear of this matter. The circumstances are being investigated as a priority."