A SWEATSHIRT or jumper with a hood has long since moved on from simply being an item of clothing.

Any such garment is now known as a hoodie - and hoodies are often in the news for all the wrong reasons. Many shops have banned them because they obscure the wearer's face. Because of this they have taken on a sinister aspect.

This has been such a hot topic that the Archbishop of York joined the debate. In May Dr John Sentamu defended wearers by donning one himself, saying 99 per cent of youths who wore them were upright citizens.

Lorraine Robinson would certainly agree with that. The middle-aged nurse was told she couldn't buy a newspaper at the shop she had used since the age of nine. All because she was wearing a hoodie - or, more strictly speaking, a lambs' wool cardigan with a hood. She wore it to keep warm, and feels the stigma is "ridiculous".

It is possible to sympathise with Mrs Robinson, although the shop was only following what has become standard practice. It has long been common for garages to decline to serve motorcyclists unless they remove crash helmets. This is for the very good reason that many robberies have been carried out by helmet-wearing thieves.

To Mrs Robinson, a hooded cardigan is a source of warmth and comfort. We entirely understand that. But the world has changed, and hoodies are sometimes worn by those who are up to no good. So the shop's point of view is totally understandable. Maybe one sensible solution would be to remove the hood on entering the shop.