Annabelle said, "To be honest, I thought she was joking. I’ve never experienced something like that and at the same time as we were in the store there were heterosexual couples being as affectionate, if not more so.

"She told us she was sorry to have said that, but a customer had complained, saying what we were doing was ‘disgusting’ and had claimed they were worried for the safety of their child so the security guard felt she had to come and say something to us.

"I’m so shocked and upset about it. I get that if another customer is uncomfortable that’s a bad thing ... but the problem is the other customer was in the wrong and essentially being homophobic. The guard didn’t seem to understand that, I was absolutely humiliated."

The Sainsbury's customer service team responded, and promised to investigate the incident and why it had happened.

A spokesperson for the store has since given a statement apologising. "This should never have happened – it is clear that Miss Paige and her partner were not behaving inappropriately and we are very sorry that they were treated in this way. We have called Miss Paige to apologise and will be making a donation to a charity of her choice."

Gay couple asked to leave a branch of Sainsbury's after a complaint about a 'light kiss'