A man has claimed he was aggressively removed from an Ayr furniture store where he takes his son to visit who has autism.

Alan McGrath told the Advertiser that he was challenged to “take this outside” by the store manager at Oak Furniture Land in Heithfield Retail Park after a row over being in the store without purchasing anything.

Alan said: “I was in the Ayr store with my two children when I was approached by one of the shop workers. She told me that as I was in the shop regularly and the shop is monitored by the amount of customers that attend in a day and do not purchase anything. I was asked not to return after this visit.”

It is alleged that before Alan left the store he was approached by the manager who asked if he had a problem to which he said “no”. Alan says at this point he was told to leave the store. When asked why, the manager reportedly told him it was because of his children making a mess. Alan added: “He told me I couldn’t come into the shop with my children after the way they left the shop the last time. He said they wrecked it and spilled water.

“I found this odd as on previous occasions my son was offered water from the water dispenser there and the staff were also nice enough. He also claimed they smashed a mirror and then backtracked on that as well when I questioned it so it’s all nonsense.”

Alan said he also asked about the strange procedure of monitoring customers who leave the store without purchasing anything. This was advised by staff who first asked Alan to leave. It later transpired that this was made up. Alan said the Ayr manager told him: “She was putting it in a diplomatic way. I’m not diplomatic.”

“I felt physically threatened as the first thing he said when he approached me was ‘if you have a problem, we can take this outside’, which I can only assume was for a fight.

“I have purchased items from the store in the past and I was going in to buy a bed for my son that day. I’m absolutely outraged at how we’ve been treated.”

The Advertiser spoke to the store manager who is claimed to have threatened Alan but he did not wish to comment.