Boy, 5, Accused Of Stealing Bag Of Chips Wins Damages

A five year-old boy from Dublin has won thousands of euro in damages from discount supermarket chain Lidl, after a cashier wrongly accused him of stealing a bag of potato chips.

Tadhg Mooney, from Balbriggan in Dublin went shopping with his mum in June 2009.

As they were leaving the store, he was pulled back by a girl working behind the counter, and accused of stealing.

His mum, Rachel, didn't notice at first - but when she saw her son wasn't beside her, she ran back into the shop to find him crying.

She showed the receipt to the shop assistant, proving that the crisps had been paid for.

And she demanded an apology for her son - but the cashier would not take her seriously.

Rachel Mooney insists it could all have ended there, if the worker had said sorry.

But when she refused, Rachel decided to take legal proceedings against the store.

She sued them for defamation of character, slander, false imprisonment, assault and negligence.

Last week a judge at the Civil Courts in Dublin accepted the settlement agreed between the parties in negotiations lasting almost two months.

The €7,500 will be kept in a fund for Tadhg until he turns 18.

Mother Rachel said she had not been back to the store since - she now shops at Tesco.