AN elderly customer who was ill in a town centre shop was left slumped over the counter, as staff refused to leave their tills to help.

Olga Gore (75), of Mountbatten Close, Unsworth, had gone into the Index catalogue store in Kay Gardens to buy a food mixer when she started to feel ill and dizzy.

Mrs Gore, who suffers from angina, had just reached the front of the queue, and asked the assistants behind the counter if she could have a glass of water.

The three members of staff manning tills told her they were unable to leave their posts.

Mrs Gore's son, Michael, who is making a complaint to the store on behalf of his mother, said: "My mother, who is quite ill, also asked if she could have a chair because she felt like she was going to pass out. The assistants told her again that they were unable to leave their tills."

And the staff continued serving as Mrs Gore remained slumped over the counter.

Mr Gore added: "Another elderly lady left her point in the queue and ran to a nearby shop for a cup of water for my mother. From a health and safety point of view it is disgusting. You would think staff would be trained to deal with such a situation.

"They might have been told not to leave their tills but this could have been so much more serious. My mother is such a kind person too, who helps out a lot of people in her neighbourhood. It just seems a shame that staff at this store were unable to help her."

A spokesman for Index said that the Bury store was undergoing a refurbishment.

She said: "Two members of staff were behind the till counter and because parts of the store are boarded off they could not get out from behind them.

"To get out they would have to jump over the 4 ft counter or go out the back of the store and in through the front doors. We would not expect our staff to be jumping over the counter.

"A member of staff was also in the back of the store. There were no chairs available because everything had been cleared because of the refurbishment. The manager came out to apologise to the lady and offered to call her a taxi, but she refused."