A six-year-old boy sustained a nasty injury after Coles security gates closed on him when he was running towards the exit at his local store, leaving him to spend his “final day of school in hospital”.
Laura Jeacock was shopping for Christmas groceries on Wednesday night with her four children at the Coles store in Lara, Victoria when she heard a commotion at the self-checkout gates.
“They literally just shut on him without warning,” she told Yahoo News.
It’s understood the “corner of the glass door” hit just above Kenzie’s eye and busted it open. He now has a nasty gash to show for it.
Kenzie’s cut had to be checked for glass before it was glued together. Source: Supplied/Getty
“[This happening] a week before Christmas is not ideal. Spending his last day of school in hospital is not fun either… the doctors had to check there was no glass in the cut before they glued it together… it was lucky it didn’t catch his eye,” Laura said.
Laura claims a fellow customer, who was a teacher, stepped in to help stop the bleeding while Coles staff watched on.
“It was pretty shocking, the staff member who was supposedly medically trained had to Google it [what to do],” she said.
Coles say security gates operated correctly
After the incident, Laura claims she received a phone call from the store with staff informing her that CCTV footage had been reviewed and “someone had come to look at the gates”. Yahoo News understands the CCTV footage shows the boy hit by the gate after running towards it.
Laura claims staff told her there are no sensors in the security gates, however, this has since been disputed by Coles.
Coles has installed security gates in many stores across Australia. Source: Supplied (file picture)
“I was told there’s no actual sensors on the gates. The sensor is on a camera which is further down the store and that just tracks if an item has been scanned and [a customer’s] receipt… there’s nothing to stop it shutting,” she said.
“What happens next? The next injury could be worse… it’s not good enough.”
It’s understood that Coles checked in on the boy on Thursday and that safety is their utmost priority.
“Safety is always our priority, and we take all concerns seriously,” a Coles spokesperson said.
“With this incident, we have fully investigated and can confirm that the gates operated correctly, however due to the boy’s speed, the gates were not able to open in time.
“This smart gate technology is designed and tested to meet global and Australian standards and has inbuilt sensors to detect any objects nearby, ensuring the gates re-open automatically to avoid closing on customers.”
Coles security gates widespread across stores
Coles introduced the new security measure last year as increasing rates of shoplifting prompted the supermarket chain to implement new anti-theft strategies.
They are designed to “automatically” open as customers make payments but have previously faced criticism from customers.
One shopper expressed concern about their safety last year but building fire safety expert Associate Professor Kate Nguyen previously told Yahoo it’s “very rare” for them to malfunction.
Woolworths has also introduced the security measure across stores.
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