A man dressed as Grinch claims he was treated like a "shoplifter" at Braehead.

John Mitchell, from Glasgow’s Southside, was stunned after being "chased out" of the popular shopping centre at the weekend for his controversial outfit.

He claims Primark gave him permission to visit their new Grinch themed cafe in his costume, however the shop did not confirm this to the Glasgow Times.

However when he arrived with his elderly mother Ruby Mitchell, 80, he was interrogated by baffled security teams who demanded he leave. 

Braehead claimed this was because festive attractions must be booked in advance, however, John insists he was visiting just as an innocent customer and had no intention of being an official or professional Grinch appearance.

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John Mitchell pictured outside the Primark store at Braehead.John Mitchell pictured outside the Primark store at Braehead. (Image: Colin Mearns)

John Mitchell pictured outside the Primark store at Braehead (next to a display of Grinch themed clothing). John Mitchell pictured outside the Primark store at Braehead (next to a display of Grinch themed clothing). (Image: Colin Mearns)

John was escorted out of the shopping centre with his elderly mother (picture taken at different shopping centre)John was escorted out of the shopping centre with his elderly mother (picture taken at different shopping centre) (Image: Sourced)

John, who does not want to reveal his age for privacy reasons, said: “I was very uncomfortable during the whole experience.

"I was treated like a shoplifter and told to leave not only Primark but also the shopping centre under a cloud of suspicion.

"I regularly attend Comic-Con and had decided to dress up as the Grinch to visit the themed Primark cafe.

“I now regret my decision to visit the cafe after taking my elderly mother with me."

John Mitchell pictured outside the Primark store at Braehead.John Mitchell pictured outside the Primark store at Braehad. (Image: Colin Mearns)

John had no idea his costume would be a problem (picture taken at different shopping centre)John had no idea his costume would be a problem (picture taken at different shopping centre) (Image: Sourced)

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John claims he was heavily and unfairly monitored after arriving at the cafe on Saturday, which made him feel uneasy as he tried to enjoy his milkshake.

Customers spotted his bright ensemble and asked to take pictures with him, which John was happy to facilitate.

When security teams then ordered him to leave John pointed out that he had not finished his milkshake, to which he was told to drink up fast and go.

Feeling upset he decided to flee the scene immediately and security called for back up, before taking him to the toilet to change.

He was then still ordered leave the centre, despite telling fellow Braehead shoppers he could no longer pose with them and being out of costume.

John asked to return to Primark to collect his mother and they were then ejected from the site together.

He said: “The security guard stood outside the public toilet for a long time waiting for me to emerge and escort me off the premises.

“I was just there as a fan. I love going to the cinema and sometimes attend in full costume such as for all of the Star Wars movies.

“I recently got into cosplaying as a means of showcasing my skills and have since made several masks and costumes for comic-cons.”

John, a comicon fan, was ordered to leave Braehead after turning up to Primark's Grinch cafe - in character as the Grinch.John, a comicon fan, was ordered to leave Braehead after turning up to Primark's Grinch cafe - in character as the Grinch. (Image: Colin Mearns)

John said he has no plans to wear his costume anywhere near Braehead againJohn said he has no plans to wear his costume anywhere near Braehead again (Image: Sourced)

When the Glasgow Times asked the Braehead Centre if there was a dress code for customers or if any rules were broken, a spokesperson said: “We were made aware of the incident over the weekend by our security team.

“The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our number one priority.

“That is why all festive attractions - or visitors looking to interact with our customers - require our standard checks and to be booked in advance.

“We have procedures in place which need to be followed and in this case they had not been, so we had to ask the individual concerned to halt their activities on site.”

A Primark spokesperson said: “We want everyone to have a great experience when shopping with us but for the safety of our customers and colleagues, we are unfortunately unable to facilitate unofficial character visits to our stores.”