KILLJOYS’ WAR ON EASTER EGGS

Overzealous officials try to ban choc sales

Hard-line officials told shopkeepers they couldn’t sell Easter eggs as the world went properly bonkers yesterday.

Barmy bureaucrats also claimed hot cross buns could not be sold as they are non-essential goods.

HEALTH officials have been accused of wrongly telling shops to stop selling Easter eggs.

The killjoys warned they could not sell chocolate eggs or hot cross buns as they are not “essential” goods, shopkeepers say.

A retail body accused heavy-handed officials of “misreading” guidance and urged corner shops to carry on.

James Lowman, of the Association of Convenience

Stores, said: “There is no Government definition of which products can be sold in those stores.

“This is overzealous enforcement and a misreading of the rules.

“Where officers have challenged retailers, it’s brought confusion, distracted retailers in the busiest weeks of their lives, and increased interactions between people.”

He said officials had been “interpreting rules in their own way”.

Retail analyst Richard Hyman added: “Quite frankly, it sounds bonkers. This is a time when being excessively pedantic seems rather absurd.”

Official guidelines say corner shops, newsagents and supermarkets can stay open during the pandemic.

And Downing Street last night confirmed neither police nor council officials had the right to stop shops from selling Easter eggs.

A spokesman said: “We have set out which shops can remain open, if a shop is allowed to stay open then it will of course sell whatever items it has in stock.”