Naomi and Pamela Desmond were tricked into licking Poundworld staff’s feet as part of a hoax competition (Picture: SWNS)

Hapless customers were tricked into licking the feet of staff at a Poundworld store who then rode them like horses in an elaborate prank by an anonymous caller.

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Naomi Desmond, 24, and her mum Pamela, 55, who has one arm, were doing some last-minute holiday shopping when they fell victim to a bizarre con lasting two-and-a-half hours.

The pair now want to sue Poundworld after the discount giant offered them a £200 voucher and an apology in return for their ordeal.

A man claiming to be from a charity in Ireland phoned the store and told staff to close it for a ‘team training exercise’ that involved entering two customers into a competition.


The bizarre con at the Poundworld, in Barnstaple, Devon lasted two and a half hours (Picture: SWNS)

Pamela and Naomi were the only shoppers inside at the time when the prankster phoned to tell staff to take two customers into the store room.



The two women were duped into believing they could win £3,000 if they endured a series of humiliating tasks at the discount shop in Barnstaple, Devon.

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The manager and another employee, who also fell victim to the hoax, were then told to take the women back on to the shop floor.

Following the caller’s instructions, the staff tied string around Naomi and Pamela’s ears, threw water over them and drew on their faces with pens.

Shoppers at Poundworld endured bizarre con at hands of a mystery caller (Picture: SWNS)

The humiliation did not stop there as the prankster ordered the staff to ride Naomi and Pamela down the aisles in a human horse race.

At one point, Naomi and her disabled mother were told to lick the feet of the staff.

Throughout the ordeal the staff had to refer to the two women as ‘Ugly’ and ‘Beast’ and in return they had to call the manager ‘Beautiful lady’ with the promise of £50 each time they said it.

The cruel antics inside the store continued for nearly two hours until the caller finally said the ‘training exercise’ had ended.

Shoppers outside Poundworld in Barnstaple (Picture: SWNS)

But minutes later as Pamela and Naomi left the store, Naomi got a call on her mobile phone from the hoaxer, demanding them to return to win more money.

The two women returned and when they found the store closed they were made to crawl around outside on their hands and knees, which they did for half an hour.

Eventually, staff inside the store stopped the women and called the head office, at which point they realised they had all been duped.

Pamela, a hospital telephonist, said: ‘At first it was funny – like a game show. It all happened on the shop floor.

‘They were asked to get on to our backs and they rode us up and down the aisle like a horse race.

‘But afterwards we felt embarrassed. We genuinely thought it was head office.

‘I’m disabled so that makes it even worse – and the caller knew.’

Naomi added: ‘We are both too scared to go into Poundworld now.’

A Poundworld spokesman said: ‘We apologise unreservedly to our customers for their experience at our Barnstaple store, which our team also fell victim of.



‘The incident has been referred to the police and we are assisting them with their enquiries.

‘We have conducted our own investigation and re-issued guidance to our stores around the verification of telephone calls to help ensure something such as this does not happen again in the future.’