A black dad was refused service when buying paint because staff assumed he would use it to graffiti.
Louis Gray, from Cardiff, was shopping at the Newport branch of Hobbycraft and tried to buy spray paint so he could recolour his four-year-old son’s bike helmet.
He stated he was surrounded by three staff members – one of whom was wearing a bodycam – who refused to sell him the paint.
But in an email to Mr Gray, Hobbycraft apologised and said he was refused service because he couldn’t provide ID for the paint, an age restricted item. Even though the age limit is 16 and Mr Gray is clearly not a teenager with his receding hairline.
Mr Gray said: ‘I did not raise my voice once, I just wore my blackness.
‘I was buying spray paint, to ironically spray my 4-year-old’s bike helmet a new colour to be like his idol. You need to be 16 to buy spray paint in the UK, 16!
Cool I accept that, but that’s in place to stop “incidences of graffiti”, in my opinion very different to gambling and alcohol.’
Mr Gray says he was ‘racially profiled’ by staff and refused service based on his skin colour and because he was wearing a ‘Nike tracksuit and Yeezys’.
He said: ‘It was the first time I have experienced racial profiling in front of my child. It’s something I always thought I could protect him from, however today, it was stolen from me.
‘I was judged in front of him, I had to stay strong and keep my head up in the face of adversity.’
In an email to Mr Gray, Hobbycraft said: ‘We would once again like to apologise for your recent experience in our store, we have a zero tolerance approach to racism here at Hobbycraft and this is not how we want any of our customers to feel.
‘As an employer we are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for our colleagues and customers, and therefore take your feedback very seriously.
We are continuing to investigate this with our Newport store team. Your situation involved the purchase of an age restricted product which requires age verification, meaning all colleagues are trained to ask for ID should they believe the customer is under the age of 25.
