A mother has praised a shop assistant who went “above and beyond” by offering her a quiet place for her to feed her baby on a rainy night.

Nicky Wall, from Wessex Road, Weymouth, said many people still seem to object to one of the most natural things a mother can do.

Nicky was out in the pouring rain one evening with her partner John Larcombe and their four children and needed to find shelter to breastfeed her eight-month-old baby daughter, Milah.

She went into the Londis shop on Westham Road and rested in a small corner of the shop to try to breastfeed Milah, whereupon staff member Penny Hiscutt came to her aid and offered her the comfort of a private room so that her baby would be able to settle.

Nicky said: “She came up and said ‘I see you are feeding your daughter would you like a private room?’ She was lovely; it was really nice and really special.”

She added that she is not used to this kind of treatment when she feeds Milah.

She said: “I breastfeed everywhere I go and people are shocked, like I am flashing them. Other people move away and people look at me like it’s something unnatural.”

Nicky was also impressed that, while she was feeding her baby, Penny took the time to entertain her other daughter and two step-children, despite the fact that the shop was very busy.

Nicky later put up a post on the Londis Facebook page, thanking the staff member for her act of kindness and for giving “the best customer service ever”.

The post received a big response from other users, who were delighted to hear of the story.

Nicky suggested a lot of mothers feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding in public due to the way people react to it.

Penny said: “It just seemed like the natural thing to do. You see someone feeding a baby and, if you have got the space, you help them and give them some privacy. Maybe just that little thing made her evening in the end, which was nice.”