A woman has said she was marched out of a supermarket mid-shop by "intimidating" litter cops who wrongly accused her of throwing a cigarette butt.
Non-smoking Angela Bellas claims she she was made to feel like a criminal by wardens who led her from Morrisons in Wincheap, Canterbury.
She claims she felt like she was forced to do a "walk of shame" back to the car park and says she was left embarrassed.
Private firm National Enforcement Solutions (NES) told Kent Online that it had reviewed body-worn camera footage from the incident and says its officers dealt with the incident "professionally".
Mrs Bellas, 46, said she popped in on her way to work at Canterbury Academy last Wednesday to pick up a loaf of bread for the special needs students.
Hearing people calling to her, she turned to see a woman dressed in black and a man in a polo shirt.
She recalled: "I said 'what, me?' and they said 'yeah, can you come along please?'
"I said 'where to?' and they said 'can you come with us?'"
Mrs Bellas says that with hindsight she would have probed further, but in the moment "just panicked".
"It was very surreal," she said. "I didn't know who they were. At first I thought they were police officers, and was thinking 'what have I done?'
"They were walking out and kept turning round to make sure I was with them.
"I said 'Can you tell me why you're taking me outside?' and they said 'When we get outside, we'll tell you'.
"It was like I was being arrested. It was really, really humiliating."
"Outside, they said 'Now I want to speak to you about that cigarette you just threw out the car window'."
Shocked, Mrs Bellas told them she does not smoke.
The enforcement officers – who it later turned out were employed by NES – pointed to a nearby red car, and asked if it was hers.
"I said 'yes that is my car, but I don't smoke'," recalled Mrs Bellas.
"There were groups of kids from Canterbury Academy standing around watching me. They were all gobsmacked.
"It was like I was being arrested. It was really, really humiliating."
Mrs Bellas continued to protest, offering officers a look around her car and urging them to smell her in a bid to prove she had not been smoking.
The wardens eventually admitted they had made an error, but reportedly offered no apology.
Mrs Bellas now hopes enforcement staff will be better trained in "how to approach members of the public in a non-scary way, in a non-confrontational way".
"It was like a walk of shame until I got outside, and then they accused me of something I didn't do. It was absolutely bizarre, and there was no apology.
"It was really, really intimidating, very embarrassing, and it actually really shook me up. I was scared, but [imagine] if it had happened to somebody vulnerable."
NES is a private firm employed by Canterbury City Council (CCC) to help clamp down on littering across Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable.
Since its contract began on May 3, wardens can hand out £150 fines to those committing offences such as littering and dog fouling.
NES receives 70% of all revenue it generates through fines, with the remaining 30% going to the city council.
In a joint statement NES and CCC said: "After review of the officers' bodyworn camera the interaction of the officer was professional and not 'demeaning, aggressive and disrespectful'.
"The officer approached the member of the public and asked them to come outside; this was to avoid embarrassment.
"After the officer questioned the member of the public about a potential offence taking place the officer was satisfied with the response and no fixed penalty notice was issued.
"NES apologises if the member of the public felt upset at any time.
"This is not what we set out to achieve and we will work with all officers on this contract to minimise the risk of a repeated incident.
"As part of the contract NES are expected to engage with the public and not just for people committing offences. NES sets a high standard as this particular role often is highly criticised."
They said enforcement officers were allowed to operate in Morrisons "as a supermarket is a public place".
