MANUKAU WOOLWORTHS RETURNS DESK PRESENTED WITH BARBECUE STILL ON FIRE

A Manukau man fronted up to the returns desk at his local Woolworths on Wednesday wheeling a barbecue that was, by all accounts, still smoking. He wanted his money back. He also wanted "a word with the manager about the ignition."

The barbecue had been bought eleven days earlier and used once at a family thing in Manurewa. Staff were initially unsure whether to process the refund or call the fire brigade.

Declan Pritchard, 54, told The Daily Yarn the unit was faulty out of the box. "Lit it up, cooked the snarlers, hood wouldn't shut, and now the bloody thing won't stop going. Wife's had enough." Asked whether he'd tried turning the gas off, Pritchard said he had, and that this was "not the point".

A woman two places back in the queue, Lorraine Ferris, said she was returning a kettle and hadn't expected to queue behind a live barbecue. "I can smell the fat off it. Am I next? Next to what — the fire brigade?" Staff brought out a trolley, then a fire blanket.

A Woolworths spokesperson said the store had a "clear returns policy" and that items must be in "saleable condition". The duty manager, asked separately, said he was "escalating it", though to whom was unclear. Gerald would have known what to do. Gerald is not available.

As of Thursday the barbecue was still on the loading dock and still smoking. Pritchard has not returned calls.