Norwich Tesco cat ban after year-long welcome

Pumpkin has been banned from a Tesco Express store in Norfolk

The owner of a cat that has been banned from a Tesco store after walking its aisles for a year says she is "a little confused" by the decision.

Jo Harding said her male ginger moggy, named Pumpkin, had visited the Thorpe Marriott branch in Norfolk "most days" as it was close to their home.

But as the Eastern Daily Press first reported the six-year-old pet had now been banned from the shop.

Tesco said a food store "isn't the best place for a cat to be".

Ms Harding said: "I would often pop in after work, see him lounging around and say 'come on Pumpkin, come home for your tea' and he would trot after me."

The six-year-old had been visiting the supermarket for about a year

She said she set up a Facebook page for the cat several months ago "as people kept posting pictures on community groups asking whose cat it was and I got fed up saying he was mine".

More than 500 people are now members of the closed group.

Ms Harding said he was "a little confused" by the ban.

"I've no idea why Pumpkin's been asked to leave now," she said, adding: "They say he's banned but I'm not sure how they're going to keep him out."

In a statement, Tesco said: "Although we love the little ginger cat who visits... a food store isn't the best place for a cat to be, so our colleagues gently encourage him to go out when he tries to come in."

The cat has hundreds of Facebook followers