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Store's park barrier held by wood | |
(20 minutes later) | |
A store has been criticised by a father for having its car park barrier fixed in place with a piece of wood. | |
Keith Mills was with his two-year-old son when he returned to his car at the Aldi store in Ebbw Vale to find the barrier on the windscreen. | |
Last week supermarket giant Asda was fined £225,000 for health and safety breaches after a Cardiff customer was killed by an unsecured barrier. | |
Aldi will comment later but has asked Mr Mills to contact the store directly. | |
Mr Mills, 32, said he parked alongside the barrier on Saturday on a trip out with his toddler son Tomos-Lloyd. | Mr Mills, 32, said he parked alongside the barrier on Saturday on a trip out with his toddler son Tomos-Lloyd. |
When the pair returned, the barrier had been moved or had blown over the front of his Fiat Bravo car, denting the bodywork, he told the BBC. | When the pair returned, the barrier had been moved or had blown over the front of his Fiat Bravo car, denting the bodywork, he told the BBC. |
He said: "If I had parked at a different angle, it would have hit the window. | He said: "If I had parked at a different angle, it would have hit the window. |
"That could have come through the back window and that's where my baby car seat is." | "That could have come through the back window and that's where my baby car seat is." |
The barrier fixed in place with a piece of wood at the Aldi store | The barrier fixed in place with a piece of wood at the Aldi store |
Mr Mills said he remembered reading about the court case in which Asda was fined over the death of Kenneth Farr at its Cardiff store. | Mr Mills said he remembered reading about the court case in which Asda was fined over the death of Kenneth Farr at its Cardiff store. |
Mr Farr, 37, of Penarth, died in May 2002, after an unsecured barrier smashed through his car windscreen at the Asda store in Cardiff Bay. | Mr Farr, 37, of Penarth, died in May 2002, after an unsecured barrier smashed through his car windscreen at the Asda store in Cardiff Bay. |
Newport Crown Court heard the two-week inquest into his death was told the barrier, which was difficult to close, should have been locked in place with a padlock, but was not secured on the day Mr Farr died. | Newport Crown Court heard the two-week inquest into his death was told the barrier, which was difficult to close, should have been locked in place with a padlock, but was not secured on the day Mr Farr died. |
Mr Mills said: "If that could happened there, it could happen elsewhere. Every store should have checked its barrier." | Mr Mills said: "If that could happened there, it could happen elsewhere. Every store should have checked its barrier." |
He said after moving the barrier off his car and back in to place, he found a strip of plastic cord on the ground under the barrier and used that to tie it in place. | He said after moving the barrier off his car and back in to place, he found a strip of plastic cord on the ground under the barrier and used that to tie it in place. |
Photographs | Photographs |
"It did cross my mind to go in to Aldi and complain but my son was crying so I just re-attached the plastic cord and went home," he added. | "It did cross my mind to go in to Aldi and complain but my son was crying so I just re-attached the plastic cord and went home," he added. |
He said he returned the following day and found the cord had been replaced by what he described as "twig". | He said he returned the following day and found the cord had been replaced by what he described as "twig". |
He said: "I can't imagine kids putting a twig in there." | He said: "I can't imagine kids putting a twig in there." |
Blaenau Gwent Council is investigating after being sent photographs of the barrier by BBC Wales. |