A HANGRY dog owner is said to have staged a “sit-down protest” in Greggs after being told he had to leave because pets are not allowed in-store.

Essex Police officers were called to reports of a disturbance at Greggs, in Station Road, Clacton, shortly before 10am on Wednesday.

The force had been informed a man had refused to vacate the premises before becoming verbally abusive towards workers.

It is understood the man had been asked to leave after wandering into the bakery branch with a large dog, which is not permitted for hygiene reasons.

Echo: Scene - Greggs, in Station Road, ClactonScene - Greggs, in Station Road, Clacton (Image: Google Maps)
The man is understood to have eventually left the shop shortly after the confrontation, but not before first staging a sit-down protest, according to eyewitnesses.

“Nobody was hurt but some people were scared and left Greggs,” said one resident.

“The staff politely said dogs are not allowed in Gregg stores unless they are service dogs, to which the claimed his was.

“After not being able to provide any proof the workers said on this occasion they would serve him if he put the dog on a lead.

“But he refused and then staged a sit-down protest in front of the counter which disrupted the service.

“As he became more and more upset the dog started barking loudly, at which point some customers decided to leave.”

Prior to the arrival of the police, Counter Crime Partnership members immediately headed to Greggs after concerns were transited across the group’s radio network.

Echo: Response - Police officers were called to Greggs following reports of a disturbance Response - Police officers were called to Greggs following reports of a disturbance (Image: N/A)
Once officers had turned up, however, they succeeded in calming the dog owner down before eventually convincing him to apologise to staff.

A spokesman for the police said: “We were called to reports of a disturbance at a shop in Station Road, Clacton, on Wednesday.

“It was reported a man had refused to leave and become verbally abusive after bringing a dog into the premises. He left the shop shortly afterwards.

“We attended and located the man outside, engaging with him and giving him words of advice.

“He apologised to staff at the shop and no further police action was deemed warranted.”