A MUM has praised the “heroic” staff at the Cam Tesco store after they helped her when her son, who has special needs, had a “meltdown”.

Josephine Smith-Mands’ three-year-old son Peter has a rare condition called Sensory Processing Disorder which means simple noises and touches can cause him severe pain and alarm.

The 41-year-old, who is new to the area and lives in Cam Pitch, said that when Peter becomes distressed in public, people often react in a negative way, assuming he is just having a tantrum.

So she was amazed by the kindness shown by staff at the Tesco supermarket in Cam on Sunday.

She told the Gazette: “A short visit to the store to get Peter some bubbles resulted in the worst meltdown I have seen over the last 16 months he has been suffering with this condition.

“Peter's episode began simply by me putting a lavender plant into my trolley on the way into the store, which resulted in him screaming and smacking himself.

“The response from the staff started almost at once, as soon as I hit the checkout. Elaine, one of the customer service assistants, began to help me as she could see I was struggling – she packed my shopping and she wheeled the trolley out into the front of the store, and she didn’t really want to leave me as Peter was now in full meltdown mode.

“She left for a moment to return with another member of staff, Teresa, who offered to take me home in her car, but I explained that Peter's condition meant the car was not possible.

“These women remained with me for a further 10 minutes, trying to help me in the best way they could as he was now becoming violent.

“Two beautiful young people by the name of Harry and Rosalee carried my shopping back to my house, up the hill, and then another member of staff from Tesco called Sally came out to see if she could also help by running back up to my house and turning off my oven which I had left on.”

Josephine said the staff stayed with her for 40 minutes while Peter was distressed, bringing her water.

“They kept back the crowd of spectators by asking them to kindly give Peter and myself space and not to crowd the area,” she said.

“They called my husband, who was in Bristol at the time, to make him aware of the matter.

“When Peter eventually calmed down, they walked me back home, including Chris the security gentleman, and made sure I was ok until my husband arrived home.”

Josephine added: “In all, these wonderful heroic people took over one hour and 20 minutes out of their day to help me and my son in a very stressful situation.

“It didn’t end there as on Tuesday I got home and found flowers on my doorstep from the three ladies from the store.

“I would like to be able to thank the staff there and also the young couple, and for them to be seen by the rest of the community as true heroes because that is exactly what they are.”

Josephine, who runs a luxury accessories business, added: “It’s hard for someone to understand the struggles you suffer as a mother to a child with special needs, let alone his sensory needs, because many just see him as being a very naughty boy. However last Sunday I had the privilege of meeting six angels all in one place.”