A PENSIONER who was charged more than £25 for items he had not bought on a Christmas shopping trip at Bolton's Marks and Spencer store has warned shoppers to always check their receipts.

John Swarsbrick wrote to this paper last week after reading about a similar incident experienced by a shopper at a different M&S.

The 85-year-old's letter was the most read story on The Bolton News website over the weekend.

Now bosses at the department store have confirmed the mistakes ­— and have moved to reassure shoppers that they were isolated incidents.

Mr Swarsbrick,from Harwood, found he had been charged an extra £26.50 during a Christmas shop with his wife at M&S in the town centre.

After checking his receipt, he discovered that a £25 patio plant and a pack of apples had been added onto his bill.

He said: “We were quite astonished really. The shop was fairly normal for us so the receipt was not checked at the time.

“We only realised a few days later.One item was a patio plant we hadn’t bought at all."

The incident came as another elderly customer, Barbara Cleaver, found she had also been overcharged by £15 at a different M&S store.

Both customers were told that there had been a ‘glitch in the till’ that happens on occasion. They were both refunded.

He said: “It was quite surprising. We were both given the same excuse for it happening.

“One can’t help the feeling that probably due to the current retail experience of some of our largest supply chains that some kind of inefficiency has crept in.

“But there was no question of us getting out money back.

“The amount was refunded within five minutes of our complaint with staff being very helpful.”

An M&S spokesman said: “These were isolated incidents that have since been resolved in store."