A field sports enthusiast said he was made to feel like a ?terrorist? after a photography lab in Devon alerted police about his pictures of a dead deer.
Tesco supermarket has stoutly defended the action of its staff who called police after the lab felt that pictures of him with a deer that he had shot were ?inappropriate?.
Police questioned him after seeing images printed from a film he had dropped off at a Tesco-run photo lab in Barnstaple.
But they took no action when they realised that the man ? who preferred not to be named ? had not broken any law.
Devon and Cornwall Police spokeswoman PC Newman told AP this morning: ?It was looked into as to whether there were any firearms offences. There were no offences.? She confirmed that the man had a valid firearms certificate.
Defending its decision to refer the case to police Tesco spokeswoman Joanna Keohane told us that it was ?common sense? for staff to contact the authorities if they are concerned about the content of a picture.
In a statement Tesco added: ?We are sorry for any upset or distress caused? however, if our staff are concerned about the content of photographic material it is right that they should seek advice from the appropriate authorities, in this instance the police. It was entirely up to the police to decide if they wanted to pursue this matter.?
The man told the Sunday Telegraph that he was left ?shocked and stunned? by Tesco?s decision which, he said, made him feel like a terrorist.
At the time of writing it was not clear whether, in light of this case, Tesco will alter the terms and conditions of its photo processing service to warn customers that such pictures may prompt a call to police.
