This is the moment a couple ‘attack’ a police officer after Tesco ‘refuse to sell them over 20 bottles of water’.

The shocking scenes followed claims that staff at the Tesco Superstore in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, refused to let Nasir Hussain and Mahira Hussain buy a trolley-load of Volvic water which lead to a row with a security guard before police had to step in.

Customers watched as the young couple were wrestled to the ground before being hauled away in handcuffs, on Tuesday.

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Mr and Mrs Hussain, of Oldham, were charged with assaulting a police officer, who suffered injuries to the face, according to Greater Manchester Police.




However, Mr Hussain accused the police of using excessive force and said he intends to make an official complaint to the IPCC.

The self-employed online retailer said: ‘To be honest I’m absolutely shocked something like this could ever happen. From a young age I’ve always thought if you have a problem, call a police officer. I don’t think I will ever ask a police officer for help again in my life.

‘The water was just for home, my missus drinks two litres of Volvic a day. She’s a secondary school teacher and the bottled water is kind of her trademark, she’s very popular at the school.’

He continued: ‘We’d already put half the bottles through the checkout when the manager said you can’t take that many.

The couple claimed they were not allowed to buy more than 10 bottles of water each (Picture: DRN)

‘I was embarrassed because there were a lot of people in the queue and I did get annoyed but I was just trying to explain that other Tescos had sold us the same amount in the past and it wasn’t a problem. They had loads of water left on the shelves but the manager said call security.

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‘Then I saw the police officer and called him but as soon as he came over I got this sinking feeling in my stomach. He wasn’t interested in hearing my side of the story.’

The start of the video shows the pair standing next to their trolley full of flavoured watermelon water at the checkout.

Speaking to the camera, Mr Hussain says: ‘So, we’re in Tesco, Rochdale, and for some reason they’ve got a different policy to every other Tesco up and down the country.

‘Every other Tesco we managed to get these Volvic bottles, as many as we want.

‘We’re not retailers, we’re not wholesalers, we just want them for our home but unfortunately in this Tesco we’ve been told that we’re only allowed ten bottles each.’

Nashir Hussain was approached by a police officer (Picture: DRN)

A security guard steps in and asks them to stop filming, saying it is forbidden on private property.

The Mrs Hussain then tells him: ‘At the end of the day, we just wanna buy the water. We buy it in every store.’



A police officer then approaches and asks what the problem is. When he realises he is being filmed he turns his back to the camera and asks the couple to switch it off – which they do.

But she resumes filming moments later as the officer is trying to lead her partner towards the store exit.

He stands his ground and tells the officer: ‘I was already walking. You didn’t need to escort me. You don’t need to touch my personal… Can you just clarify something for me?’

But the officer refuses to discuss the matter any further and grabs Mr Hussain by his clothing.

He then appears to swing his right arm towards Mr Hussain’s head, who ducks out of the way before his partner steps in.

After refusing to leave the superstore police forced him to the ground (Picture: DRN)

Mahira Hussain was also restrained (Picture: DRN)

The video cuts before an unknown person starts recording as the Mrs Hussain gets restrained to the ground.

She screams ‘get off me’ when the officer takes hold of her, as she clings to a nearby checkout and resists.

Mr Hussain then shouts: ‘I didn’t do anything. When are you allowed to punch someone for doing nothing? You wanna know what racism is? This is what it fucking looks like.’

Mr Hussain continued: ‘He arrested me and my partner without warning and used excessive force, I think he lost the plot. I was trying to buy something from the shop, not steal something and I got arrested.

‘The worst part for me was being on the ground while they were arresting my partner. I couldn’t do anything to help her, she’s only 5ft 1in as well, very petite. She wasn’t posing a physical threat to anybody.


‘When my dad heard about what happened he said I should’ve just stayed quiet, but when he saw the videos he changed his opinion. My whole family is in shock.

Staff tried to calm her down as police arrested her (Picture: DRN)

‘I don’t know how they’ve charged us for this. I’ve never been convicted of anything in my life or had a punch thrown at me but I think if you’re going to bully people and use excessive force then people have a right to defend themselves in that moment.

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‘I can’t remember everything that happened but if the officer got hurt then he either did it to himself or it happened accidentally as I was trying to defend myself. Neither of us attacked the officer.’

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: ‘Two people have been charged with assaulting a police officer.

‘Nasir Hussain and Mahira Hussain both of Oldham, have been charged with assault of a constable and have been bailed to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 30 October 2018.

‘Around 7pm on Tuesday 25 September, while responding to another incident at Tesco on Silk Street, Rochdale, an officer was alerted to a disturbance in the store.

‘The officer spoke to both parties involved before asking a man to leave. The officer was assaulted and suffered injuries to his face.’

A Tesco spokesperson said, ‘We are aware of the incident at the Rochdale Superstore and will assist with the investigation.’

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