Chef stopped from buying lime because 'it could be weapon'

London, November 21 (ANI): A chef who went to a supermarket to buy limes was left stunned when she was told that she can't buy more than one because they could be used as a weapon.

Marisa Zoccolan visited the new Asda supermarket close to her home in Wallsend, North Tyneside, to buy some groceries that included two limes.

But when she tried to pay for them at the self-service checkout, the message 'amount exceeded, authorisation required' flashed up.

An assistant then came over and told her that more than one lime was deemed a weapon - because the citric acid could be squirted in someone's eye.

She tried to authorise the purchase but the problem persisted, so the assistant went away to speak to her superior.

Finally, staff at the supermarket allowed Ms Zoccolan to buy both limes despite the messages flashing up on the checkout screen.

"Yes, they vetted me and let me buy them... I clearly don't look like I'm going to carry out a drive-by fruiting any time soon," the Daily Mail quoted Zoccolan as saying.

A spokeswoman for Asda supermarket said that Zoccolan would be offered 'complementary limes' as an apology.

"We know that sometimes health and safety rules can seem a bit plum crazy, but on this occasion it's a case of one of our colleagues indulging their sublime sense of humour," she said. (ANI)