Published: Monday, 1st March, 2010 2:00pm

Staff treated me like a terrorist

by Brian Hossack

WATER CARRY-ON: Bob with bottle at the jobcentre.

A MAN has claimed he was refused entry to Greenock job centre because he was carrying a bottle of water.

Bob Neeson, 57, said he was made to feel like a 'terrorist' by staff at Jobcentre Plus in Dalrymple Street after being told he couldn't take the small container of supermarket-brand water inside.

Bob said: "It was utterly ridiculous. The bottle was clearly water.

"I had just bought it 15 minutes before in Tesco and it had the shop's label on it. I was taking a drink from it as I walked up and went to go inside to sign on.

"It was then I was stopped by two men and a woman at the door. They said I couldn't take the water inside. I laughed because I thought they were just joking, but they were quite insistent.

"I asked them why, but they wouldn't give me an answer. It was a ridiculous carry-on. If this is the latest security measures they have brought in then the world has really gone mad.

"It felt like I was trying to going through security at Glasgow Airport. I was treated like a terrorist."

Bob only recently began signing on after being made redundant from his position at a shop in Gourock where he had worked for around a year.

A Jobcentre spokeswoman said: "Our top priority at Greenock Jobcentre is to help people back to work. We give them the support they need and create a welcoming office for them to get help.

"To keep the office clean and tidy, we ask all our customers not to bring any food or drink into the building."

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