Queue the panic as millions scramble for gifts
DESPERATE people queue to get into a Smyths toy store before 8pm closing in a last-ditch scramble for Christmas gifts.
The scene in Cardiff on Saturday came after First Minister Mark Drakeford said Wales would go into lockdown on Sunday. And it was repeated in London and the South East as millions rushed to try to beat extreme Tier 4 rules that forced all non-essential shops to close.
Workers in Cardiff were seen dismantling the city’s Christmas markets after Mr Drakeford’s announcement.
Retail chiefs warn the brutal new restrictions coming in across the UK will be a “hammer blow” to the sector – with shops losing £4billion in sales.
High streets were eerily deserted yesterday and shopping hubs that would usually be bustling were abandoned – with the car park at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Grays, Essex, empty and Oxford Street in London deserted.
Although all non-essential shops have been forced to close, click and collect is still allowed under the new rules.
Supermarkets have also reassured
shoppers that shelves are well stocked and they should avoid panic-buying.
The British Retail Consortium said: “We don’t expect any fundamental impact on the food supply chain, which is robust and has coped well throughout the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said ministers are “looking at” options for compensating those forced to scrap travel plans to help stem the spread of the new Covid-19 variant.
Thousands were seen queuing at stations to make a last-minute dash out of London before Tier 4 travel restrictions came into force at midnight.
Yesterday morning, Eurostar tickets sold out in less than an hour, despite the new rules banning non-essential travel.
That was before France then suspended all “flows of people” from the UK 48 hours, starting from midnight last night. Italy and the Netherlands had already banned UK travellers due to fears over the new coronavirus variant.
Airlines have also been urged to refund customers no longer able to fly due to the rule changes.