PICTURE THAT SHAMES SELFISH BRITAIN
Stooping to check his shopping list, this elderly man is faced with a shocking reality – most of the stock has been stripped from the supermarket shelves by selfish fellow customers.
the picture was taken at a Sainsbury’s in Epsom, Surrey, but the increase in panic buying has hit all major supermarkets.
Shoppers were yesterday seen queuing at dawn outside a tesco in the Danestone area of Aberdeen.
But by midday, the shelves had been all but emptied of items such as toilet roll and canned goods.
Similar scenes were reported around the country as the Scottish government appealed for calm.
Mr Matheson, the Cabinet Secretary for transport, infrastructure and Connectivity, said: ‘the issue is with people overbuying, and the selfish nature of that is having an impact on some of the most vulnerable members of our community.’
the increased demand has also led to angry scenes as people battled over household essentials.
Stores are now imposing strict limits on the purchase of essentials from baby formula and nappies to paracetamol, hand sanitisers, cleaning products, tinned food, long-life milk, pasta and toilet rolls.
And, yesterday, the country’s biggest supermarkets, tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, went much further with new limits of three items across all food and grocery products.
Supermarkets have held emergency talks with police forces to ensure urgent help amid concerns that aggressive shoppers have left staff fearing for their safety.
the incidents raise fears the country could see food riots.
Waitrose has set a maximum cap of between two and 12 items across as many as 400 products. And Morrisons, which has seen a 15 per cent rise in sales in the past two weeks, is putting a cap on purchases across 1,200 products. these include a limit of four per customer for packs of baby milk formula.
Similar restrictions are being imposed by other retailers. Aldi is not allowing people to buy more than four of any product line.
Restrictions are also being applied to online orders amid a surge in demand for home deliveries. the rush to buy provisions online means some firms do not have delivery slots available for up to six weeks.
the British Retail Consortium said stores were talking to the police about how to cope with any violence. its director of Food and Sustainability, Andrew opie, said: ‘Retailers are well-versed in providing effective security measures. We will continue to work with police to protect customers and employees.’
the extension of rationing is part of a much wider effort by the supermarkets to ensure they maintain the nation’s food supplies.
For example, tesco and Asda, are ending 24-hour opening at hundreds of outlets to allow staff time to re-stock shelves through the night. And some, such as iceland, are setting aside one hour at the beginning of the day for older customers, who fear contamination, to shop in peace without any pushing and shoving.
First Minister nicola Sturgeon said: ‘My advice to the general public is to be reponsible. We’re all in this together. Do the right thing.’
the proportion of Britons who admit to hoarding essentials has risen from one in ten to one in four over the past two weeks.
Sainsbury’s chief executive, Mike Coupe, said: ‘We have enough food coming into the system, but are limiting sales so that it stays on shelves for longer and can be bought by a larger numbers of customers.’
in other safety measures, supermarkets are asking customers to stop using cash, which can carry the virus, and pay by card or smartphone to protect staff at the tills. Latest coronavirus video news, views and expert advice at mailplus.co.uk/coronavirus
‘Work with police to protect customers’
Bewildered: Elderly customer faced with an aisle of empty shelves as he shops at a Sainsbury’s in Epsom, Surrey