A mum who accused a Primark security guard of forcibly removing her breastfeeding baby has admitted that she lied, the BBC reported.
Twenty-eight-year-old mother Caroline Starmer pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at Leicester crown court on Thursday after being charged by police over the false accusation in July.
She alleged that a security guard in a Primark store in Leicester asked her to stop breastfeeding her nine-month-old daughter in the store, and that after she challenged him he pulled the child away from her, causing "excruciating pain".
Starmer said in a Facebook post, which has since been deleted: "I stood my ground and stated my rights, that I can legally feed where I want."
"Just for the security officer to physically remove my daughter from my breast and walk down the store with her, saying if I wanted my daughter, then I was to come and get her."
At the time, Primark said that their security footage showed no record of the incident. A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News: "The CCTV footage, reviewed by store management, shows the customer in the Leicester store quite clearly during the time in question. We can see no evidence that she was approached by anyone during this period.
"We have spoken to the security guards on duty. They categorically deny behaving in the way alleged. Furthermore the individuals do not fit the description given by the customer."
Starmer will be sentenced in December, and has been warned that she could face jail.
UPDATE
Caroline Starmer was handed a suspended prison sentence on Thursday 3 December, the BBC reported.
The 28-year-old received an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years.