A 67-year-old grandfather was forced to leave his local Home Bargains after facial recognition cameras mistakenly flagged him as a shoplifter.
Ian Clayton from Chester described feeling “helpless” when staff asked him to exit the store, having been wrongly connected to a theft he had no involvement in.
“I thought I was going to be sick,” he said, recalling the incident where he was flagged by the Facewatch-operated software.
“That feeling didn’t go away all day, and it didn’t go away the next day.”
Mr Clayton insisted on his innocence in the affair, highlighting his unblemished history with the law, which further increased his distress.
“I’ve got a perfect clean record – always have had, I pride myself in that,” he said.
The pensioner expressed deep frustration at being wrongly branded a criminal by automated surveillance systems.
“I’m not a shoplifter, and I really resent being targeted as one and having my face on a system that I can’t even have removed,” he told the BBC.
Pensioner Ian Clayton said he felt ‘helpless’ after being wrongly identified as a theif by a shop’s facial recognition software
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LINKEDIN: IAN CLAYTON
Mr Clayton is now seeking an apology from Home Bargains for how he was treated.
The grandfather stressed that he simply wants “to feel safe” when visiting his neighbourhood shops again.
After the incident, Mr Clayton reached out to Facewatch, which responded by sending him a photograph along with an accusation that he had concealed items in a bag and stolen them.
He has also requested CCTV footage from both the police and Home Bargains.
The 67-year-old grandfather was forced to leave his local Home Bargains during the incident
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Facewatch has since confirmed that Mr Clayton should never have appeared in their database.
The security company stated that his image and “the associated record” had been permanently deleted from the system.
A Facewatch spokesperson indicated that Home Bargains “has now completed a full review of the incident.”
It stressed that it treats the accuracy of its technology with the utmost seriousness and responds swiftly when records fail to meet required standards.
The Facewatch system operates across thousands of shops throughout England and Wales, with retailers uploading reports of suspected shoplifting and violence.
Moderators then evaluate CCTV footage and witness accounts before flagging individuals to participating stores.
Home Bargains is among more than 100 retailers using facial recognition cameras to combat theft and protect staff from violence, alongside chains such as Sainsbury’s, Asda, Iceland, Sports Direct and Budgens.
Responding to a previous case, Facewatch told GB News that its system operates with “99.98 per cent accuracy”.
A spokesman added that the technology prevented an average of 1,400 thefts and acts of abuse and violence against frontline shopworkers.
A spokesman for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology responded to the case, stating: “No one should be wrongly identified and accused due to errors in facial recognition systems.”
The department pledged to continue collaborating with the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure regulations remain effective.
GB News has approached Facewatch and Home Bargains for comment.