Hygiene watchdogs swoop on supermarket... to stop children from standing in the trolleys

FOOD hygiene officials inspected a supermarket after an angry shopper complained – about children standing in the trolleys. The unnamed customer was so enraged after seeing youngsters as old as nine inside the trolleys at Sainsbury’s in Ashford, Kent, that she fired off several complaints.

She emailed the chain’s chief executive, Mike Coupe, and wrote to Dr Rich- ard Judge, the boss of the Health and Safety Executive, and Ashford Borough Council leader Gerry Clarkson.

She wrote: ‘Every other trolley is being pushed around by parents with children standing up or sitting in the groceries section.

‘Think about this. These are kids who walk around outside in the same shoe they’re standing in, inside the trolley. Dog faeces, dirt, litter residue, all this is being carried into the trolley on their shoes. Even worse, we frequently see kids in the trolley picking their noses or shoving food in their mouths. Why are Sainsbury’s allowing this to happen?’

Ashford Borough Council environmental health officers visited the supermarket last week. A spokesman said: ‘The council and Sainsbury’s would like to remind parents and guardians to use trolleys responsibly.’