Tesco Ban Balloons From Clown Act Due To Allergy Fears

Tue, 14 Aug 2007
 
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Tesco have banned a children’s entertainer from using ballons during his perfromance in one of their stores .

The clown, Barney Baloney, entertained children by twisting balloons into animal shapes, but has now seen his act curtailed by the supermarket giant amid fears that members of his audience could be allergic to latex contained in the balloons .

The 47-year-old entertainer, also known as Tony Turner, has entertained thousands of children in the Yorkshire region and has stated that to this day none of them have been injured as a result of his acts.

Recently, however, Mr Turner, 47, has had to rely on an emu costume, some puppets and a juggling performance to keep the children amused during a five-hour stint at a supermarket in Leeds .

He said, "Twisting balloons into shape makes up 40 per cent of my act and I can’t see what the problem is. Kids love to see me make shapes, and that part of my act is the children’s favourite."

The Sheffield-born clown has already been forced to stop using a bubble-making machine after he was refused public liability insurance because insurers said the bubbles may cause the children to slip and hurt themselves.

A Tesco spokesman commented: "We have banned balloons because latex is used in the manufacture of them and this can trigger an allergic reaction in some children . We always have the welfare of children at heart ."

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