A businessman has told today how he and his girlfriend were thrown onto the ground and handcuffed by police following a dispute over a trolley full of bottled water at Tesco. Dramatic footage shows Nasir Hussain and his girlfriend Mahira Hussain being arrested after clashing with superstore staff when they got to the checkout. Customers watched in alarm as the man and his wife were wrestled to the floor at a Tesco's in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, before being hauled away. Mr Hussain said his healthy-living girlfriend, a maths teacher at a local school, drinks two litres of mineral water a day. 'The manager at the Tesco in Rochdale said buying too much water was unfair to other customers.
Mahira is known for drinking a lot of water. She has least two-litre bottles a day and we've never had a problem buying it from other Tesco stores. Recalling the 'nightmare' which resulted in him spending seven hours in a police cell, he added: 'As I was at the checkout, a lot of the bottles have been scanned and I'm about to pay when the manager came up and said 'you can't buy this many. It's not fair to other customers'.' I said I'd never had an issue before in Oldham and didn't understand why it was an issue and then she called security.'I was not being aggressive, I was just being normal. Mahira started filming and the security guard was saying it was private property which I was not aware of.'I saw there was a police officer and I thought 'forget security - there's a person who will be fair'. I called him over and he said, 'have you told him to leave?
'Straight away I got this sinking feeling. I felt the police officer came with an agenda and he didn't listen to me.' He had an issue with Mahira recording. The reason she was recording it was that I just had a feeling and I was worried about how I'd be portrayed. 'I just wanted him to listen. I felt like I was being unjustly treated. There's no sign saying how many bottles of water you can take or not take.' The police officer was talking about recording in a private place and I said that's fine we can go outside.' I turned around to walk out of the store. I said 'all I want to do is have a conversation'. He grabbed my arm and I was against the wall.' The couple, both of Oldham, was charged with assault following the incident, according to Greater Manchester Police. Greater Manchester Police say they have since received a complaint to their Professional Standards Branch following the incident. Mr Hussain added: 'I spent six hours in A&E getting checked and I've a bruise on my head. I've been feeling depressed, not feeling like seeing anyone. My body is in pain in my head, on my calf and between my shoulders from being shoved about.' They told me the police officer was injured but haven't said anything about what I've done. I don't know if I threw a punch or raised a hand to block him. I was in shock. I'm not sure how many there were in total.' After that, I was crowded around by lots of officers. They got me to the ground. I can't see Mahira, I can just hear her screaming. That was the hardest thing.'I felt very helpless. Having her in distress and him going for her like that. It's an absolute disgrace.' We were then led out in handcuffs and I could hear customers saying 'why are you manhandling her?''Members of the public were trying to record but the Tesco staff were blocking them.' We're private people and to have this video shared on social media with people saying we must have done something wrong, we must have robbed the place. It's horrible.' We were taken in separate police cars to Bury police station and we were told by the duty manager that we'd be able to have our say.' I felt aggrieved, hurt and anxious and kept trying to explain to them what had happened.' I was in a cell for four or five hours and they were saying a solicitor would come and speak to us.' The solicitor came and said we would be out in half an hour, they were charging us and we're not going to interview us.' It was about 3am when we were allowed out. I can't function. I've not been into work since.' Mr Hussain said he has filed a complaint with the police and is planning to contact the IOPC. Ms Hussain said: 'I can't believe this has happened.' A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: 'Two people have been charged with assaulting a police officer.' Nasir Hussain and Mahira Hussain both of Oldham, have been charged with assault of a constable and have been bailed to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 30 October 2018.'Around 7pm on Tuesday 25 September, while responding to another incident at Tesco on Silk Street, Rochdale, an officer was alerted to a disturbance in the store.' The officer spoke to both parties involved before asking a man to leave. The officer was assaulted and suffered injuries to his face.'