Two Poundworld shoppers have been tricked by a hoax caller who made them crawl around the shop floor for the chance to win £3,000.
Shoppers in prank call humiliation
Naomi Desmond, 24, and her mother 55-year-old mother Pamela - who is disabled - were involved in the humiliating prank when a caller claiming to be from a charity phoned the Poundworld store in Barnstaple, Devon, and asked it's staff to take two customers into the store room for a chance to win the cash.
Following the instructions of the caller, the store's manager and another employee threw water over the two women and drew on their face with pens, before being ordered to ride the women down the aisles in a human horse race.
According to the Metro newspaper, the humiliating ordeal lasted for two hours before the caller said the exercise had ended, and the women left the store.
However, minutes after leaving Naomi received a call on her mobile from the hoaxer, ordering the pair to return. When they got back to the store to find it closed, they were made to crawl around on their hands and knees outside for half and hour.
Eventually, staff inside the store stopped the women and phoned head office, at which point they realised the whole ordeal had been a hoax.
Pamela told the publication: ''At first it was funny - like a game show. It all happened on the shop floor. They were asked to get on to our backs and they rode us up and down the aisle like a horse race. But afterwards we felt embarrassed. We genuinely thought it was head office. I'm disabled so that makes it even worse - and the caller knew.''
Poundworld have offered Naomi and Pamela a £200 voucher as an apology, but the women are reportedly looking to sue the discount giants.