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A security guard at Primark allegedly pulled a nine-month-old baby from her mother’s breast after she refused to stop feeding the child inside the store.

Caroline Starmer said she was asked to leave after finding a "quiet spot" to feed her hungry daughter at the clothing chain’s Leicester store yesterday.

The mum said she "stood her ground" and insisted she could legally feed where she likes, but the guard then "physically removed" the girl from her breast.

She says the security officer than walked away with her baby.

Ms Starmer outlined her "horrific" experience in a Facebook post to the Free to Feed group last night.

She wrote: "I feel I need to share a horrific experience I had today at my local Primark store in Leicester.

"My 9.5 month old daughter started crying, needing a feed and the queues were pretty long, so to save my daughter the upset, and the other customers too, I decided to find a quiet spot out the way of others and feed her discreetly.

"Within five minutes of doing so, I was approached by a security guard who asked me to vacate the premises to feed my daughter.

"I stood my ground and stated my rights, that I can legally feed where I want… Just for the security officer to physically remove my daughter from my breast and walk down the store with her, saying if I wanted my daughter, then I was to come and get her."

Ms Starmer says collected her daughter and then went straight to the local police station to lodge a complaint.

She added: "My confidence is shot, and my poor daughter hasn't been herself all afternoon."

The post has been shared nearly 10,000 times and Ms Starmer has received a litany of sympathetic messages.

In a follow up message, she said she was in "complete shock" over the level of support.

Leicestershire Police confirmed it had spoken to Ms Starmer and arranged to take a statement about the allegations.

A Primark spokesman said: "We have investigated this customer’s allegation which we naturally take very seriously indeed.

"The CCTV footage, reviewed by store management, shows the customer in the Leicester store quite clearly during the time in question. We can see no evidence that she was approached by anyone during this period.

"We have spoken to the security guards on duty. They categorically deny behaving in the way alleged. Furthermore the individuals do not fit the description given by the customer.

"We have therefore concluded that the customer allegation is not supported by the available evidence to date. The company would obviously be happy to work with any police investigation into this incident, should this be needed.

"We have tried to contact the customer to reassure her about Primark’s practice on breastfeeding.

"At Primark, we work hard to provide all the comfort and facilities possible to our customers. Our policy is quite clear. We do not prohibit breastfeeding. In addition, any customer can request a quiet or private area within the store to breastfeed her child and our staff will do all they can to accommodate such a request. Please do not hesitate to ask staff for assistance."