STAFF SHAKEN BY MASK ABUSE

CUSTOMERS HAVE STARTED TO SHOUT AT STAFF OVER SHOP’S MASK POLICY

STAFF at a charity shop in Burton said they have been left “shaking” after suffering abuse from customers who refuse to wear masks.

Some shoppers have been pushing past staff at the RSPCA Hillfield Animal Home, in High Street, shouting that they do not have to wear a mask in the shop because they have a “hidden disabilities” lanyard which lets shops know they cannot wear a face covering.

One customer even threatened to have the shop shut down within a week.

The charity shop was hit by controversy after Dave Yeomans said he was asked to leave the shop as he was not wearing a face covering. There is no suggestion Mr Yeomans was abusive.

The 59-year-old is exempt from having to wear a mask due to having asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which causes breathing difficulties. He wears the “hidden disabilities” lanyard.

His case sparked debate on social media among readers.

Three members of staff at the shop suffer from asthma and the venue’s policy to turn away anyone not wearing a mask was made to protect them and other customers, it says.

However, since the article was published the shop manager, Alex Fortaine-Grice, said: “We now have our volunteers upstairs rather than on the shop floor. One of our volunteers had become so stressed that she has dropped down a day.

“This is usually such a nice, happy shop. We have had customers push past us and stand there shouting saying they will not be made to wear their masks.

“It is so upsetting. We are just gobsmacked. We are only doing it to protect ourselves as three of us suffer from asthma.

“We have said that if you don’t wear a mask then do not come in. “We have staff at the door with sanitiser and we sanitise our clothes regularly.

“When we had one person come in shouting at me, other customers came up to me afterwards to ask if I was okay but I was shaking.”

A former charity trustee at the Burton branch, Jon Pitchfork, also slammed the minority of customers who, he says, are very “small minded and selfish” not to consider the wishes of others. He added: “We really need people to know these cards are not some kind of James Bond style licence to go anywhere they please, and instead try being a little more understanding that there are other people in this world with their own rights and concerns.”

These cards are not some kind of James Bond style licence to go anywhere they please

Jon Pitchfork