SECURITY staff at Glasgow's biggest venue have been slammed for kicking a man out of a show for checking on his seriously ill dad.

Chris Penman was ejected from the SSE Hydro before comedian Chris Rock took to the stage on Wednesday evening for looking at his phone.

The 45-year-old was left reeling after being approached by security seconds after unlocking his device during the interval.

Promoters for the show had imposed a strict policy which demanded all audience members put their phones inside lockable pouches.

The devices could only be accessed in certain 'unlocking areas' in the arena with permission from staff.

Chris, from Motherwell, was given the go ahead to take his mobile in after explaining to a door steward that he was waiting on an update on his dad's condition.

Shortly after the support acts had finished, the engineer checked for the text but was pulled out by security within seconds.

After being escorted to the front of the venue, the workers then searched through his phone.

Chris said: "I must have only looked at it for about 15 seconds, no one was on stage and I held it discreetly on my lap, then I was approached by a guard.

"They looked through my camera roll and my deleted images but I hadn't taken pictures so there was nothing there.

"As they were going through it, the text came in from my brother saying my dad had managed to take his medication and eat without being sick - which is what I was waiting for.

"My dad is in the heart transplant ward in the Golden Jubilee in a really bad way.

"I explained the full thing but they still said I had to leave. I couldn't believe it - I'm still baffled today.

"It's just extraordinarily petty and unreasonable.

"I'm happy that my dad is doing better but I'm angry because my wife paid £140 for the tickets as a gift and we didn't even get to see Chris Rock.

"It was the first night I've left my dad in weeks, and was supposed to be a bit of a break, but ended up completely ruined by this ridiculous situation."

The practice of removing phones from audiences is common in America and is designed to stop film or recordings being posted online.

Promoters for award-winning Rock are thought to have personally requested the policy for his UK 'Total Blackout' Tour.

Chris Rock teamed up with Yondr, which locks phones within a neoprene pouch and is only released at the touch of an unlocking base.

A post by the SSE Hydro on social media ahead of the show said: "Any phones brought to the venue will be required to be placed in a supplied locked pouch. Everyone is subject to a pat down or wanding and anyone caught with a phone inside the venue will be immediately ejected.

"This also means that physical tickets are mandatory for access into the building, as all phones will be locked prior to ticket scanning."

A spokeswoman from the venue added: "The safety of our visitors remains paramount whilst honouring the requests that may arise from a promoter or artist.

"Messaging that the use of phones would be prohibited at this event was widely shared across all our channels including website alerts, Facebook, Twitter and e-cards to all ticket holders.

"However, the use of phones was still allowed in the ‘unlocking’ areas on the concourse so this did not prevent anyone bringing their phones with them, only from using them while in the protected area.

"Like other arenas we remain fully in dialogue with one another about any issues arising from the use of Yondr.”