Morrisons: Bikers in helmets assault us

Motorcyclists wearing helmets have assaulted petrol station staff, according to Morrisons.

The statement was made in the retailer’s latest justification for demanding riders remove helmets before filling up with fuel.

MCN revealed the store’s customer services department had said in an email that petrol fumes could get inside helmets and cause the wearer to pass out – a claim branded “impossible” by the Petrol Retailers’ Association.

In another email to a dissatisfied motorcyclist, the department said:  ‘We have had occasions when staff have been assaulted by people wearing helmets – perhaps in the belief they can make a quick get-away or do so anonymously.’

A spokesman for the firm angered riders using our website when he said helmets must be removed to ‘manage the risk of robbery or assault’.

One rider wrote: ‘So all bikers are criminals?’

A Morrisons spokesman was clarifying whether staff had been assaulted by bikers in helmets.

He said: “Clearly we’re not saying all bikers are criminals.

“The primary reason we ask riders to remove their helmets is that we are required by law to validate the minimum age for dispensing fuel. Also, asking for helmets to be removed is one of the measures that help us manage the risk of robbery and assault, by allowing an individual to be more easily identified.”