Spilling burning hot coffee over yourself is never a nice experience. But that was just the start of one very bad incident for 62-year-old piano teacher Stephanie Caine.

Mrs Caine, who lives in Catton Grove Road, Norwich, was outraged at what she called unacceptable treatment after the spillage at the Sainsbury's supermarket off Queen's Road.

She said it happened after she had done her grocery shopping at the store, and then went back inside to get a cup of coffee for her lodger - who is also a taxi driver - who had arrived to collect her.

Mrs Caine said: 'They filled it so it was sort of overflowing and they didn't attempt to put the top on, they just left it to me to do.

'And it just went all over my hand and arm and I was really badly burned.

'I asked to be able to go and run my hand under cold water but they said I wasn't allowed.'

Mrs Caine said a staff member then brought her a cup of lukewarm water to dowse herself with, which she found unsatisfactory.

She said: 'Eventually a manager came along and apologised and let me go to the tap.

'I thought: this is not OK, and could actually be quite dangerous.

'I was fairly demanding but it could have been somebody that's not and they could be in real trouble.'

Mrs Caine has she was concerned about anyone else receiving similar treatment and called on Sainsbury's to ensure its staff were better trained to deal with such situations.

She said: 'If you have an accident you should be able to access cold water immediately.'

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: 'We're sorry if there was any confusion. The safety of our customers is always our priority and we can confirm that all health and safety processes were swiftly followed.'