Two friends were kicked out of a shopping center – because staff said they weren’t dressed ‘appropriately’ in Halloween costumes, they claim.
Comedians Chris Cole and Paul Fox claim eight security officers forced them out of the Bluewater shopping center in Greenhithe, Kent, when they turned up in devil and vampire costumes.
Footage filmed by the pair shows an officer telling them his “control room has deemed it unsuitable” for the “family mall”.
The security guard is seen being asked by the pair what the “problem” is, to which he replies “there isn’t one” before calmly relaying the initial instruction from his bosses for them to leave.
The mall says the men were “escorted” off the premises as their behavior was “not in line with its code of conduct for guests”.
Police were also called after reports they were “causing disturbance to members of the public” and gave the couple “advice”.
However, the Gravesend duo say they were only dressed as their self-created characters, Deville and Nostrils, in a bid to bring some lighthearted fun to Saturday night.
Cole, a veteran of the war in Ukraine, said: “We’re entertainers, we’re not out to scare people – it’s an interaction thing.”
The friends had planned to go to City Wall Wine Bar in Rochester to raise money for a charity that evening.
But they decided to make a stop at Bluewater first and headed off to do some shopping around 4:00pm.
The 57-year-old added: “Even though we look really scary, the kids really love us because kids now aren’t scared of Halloween.
“Halloween is a big thing, they all come out and dress up, so to see two others looking scary is very normal.”
But shortly after parking and entering M&S, they were approached by mall security guards who began questioning them and later following them around the store.
Cole added: “We didn’t get very far and then they stopped us and said ‘you have to leave’.
“If it was dark, low light and we came out from behind the columns, I would understand, but we had only been a few minutes.”
He says he and Fox didn’t interact with the shoppers unless they approached them first and scared the kids.
He said: “Nostrils [Paul] with his Transylvanian accent he comes across as a bit goofy and funny, but he is very kind and gentlemanly.
“Whereas I, being the devil, am worse, so I always say to the kids ‘Is your room tidy?’ and they say ‘yes’ and then I’ll go ‘Well that’s not good, it must be messy !’
“But the best of all is Mr. Jobsworth said ‘We can’t have you here, you’re scaring the kids’ and at that moment, two little girls pulled my coat and said ‘Happy Halloween’ and it couldn’t have come at a better time – the kids everybody did it.”
The duo said their comedy will bring light entertainment to people and hope to continue playing characters in the future.
Police confirmed their attendance at around 4pm on Saturday (November 2).
A spokeswoman for the force said: “Kent Police were called to a report of two people dressed in Halloween costumes who were causing a disturbance to members of the public in Bluewater, Greenhithe.
“Officers attended and spoke to the two individuals and gave them words of advice.”
A spokesman for the shopping center said: “On Saturday, two guests were escorted from Bluewater by Kent Police and our security team as their behavior did not comply with our code of conduct for guests visiting the centre.”
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