Police step in to stop selfish stockpilers barging past pensioners in supermarkets

Hundreds of shoppers were spotted queueing around the entire carpark of a Tesco at 6am today. 

Shocking drone footage revealed the true extent of panic buying amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The same Tesco in New Malden, London, saw a similarly gigantic queue snake around its carpark at 5.50am yesterday.  

Police were yesterday forced to step in to stop selfish stockpilers from barging past pensioners and ransacking supermarket shelves. 

Some supermarkets have introduced dedicated hours where NHS workers and the elderly are allowed to shop without other members of the public getting involved. 

However, younger shoppers were spotted selfishly pushing past elderly people to continue with the panic-buying which has taken over across the nation. 

Some supermarkets have hired security guards to try and level the playing field for those who are more vulnerable and haven’t had a chance to buy essentials during the coronavirus pandemic.  

A Marks & Spencer shop in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, was among the first shops to call in police to help ensure older shoppers could use the hour set aside for them. 

Asda and Aldi have hired a sports security firm, Showsec, to protect against selfish panic buyers. 

And some other 118 major stores across the UK have also requested to protection from customers who openly flout governmental advice to stop panic buying.  

The staff, who are usually escorting boxers to the ring, have been employed to work from 5am to midday. 

One Shosec worker told The Sun: ‘They cannot handle the trouble. They’re calling us in to try and get some order back but it’s going to be a mammoth task.’

Supermarkets are desperately trying to keep up with the demand in order to prevent the elderly and NHS staff and emergency workers from having to go without as a result of other selfish shoppers. 

Tesco is even hiring 20,000 shelf stackers on 12-week contracts, while Aldi is aiming for 9,000 and Asda for 5,000.   

Most supermarkets have started limiting purchases and are trying to get shoppers down to just two or three items of food, toiletries and cleaning products. 

Waitrose has started a £1million community support fund to make sure essential items are delivered to care homes.  

And others have taken measures to allow NHS staff priority access after a heartbreaking video of a crying care nurse was released yesterday.  

Dawn Bilbrough, 51, from York, had just completed a 48-hour shift before visiting her supermarket to pick up basic food items for the next two days when she was left having a ‘little cry’.

After discovering there were no fruit and vegetables for her to sustain a healthy living amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the healthcare worker made a tearful plea to the public urging them to ‘just stop it’.

The nurse took to Facebook from the seat of her car to tell the nation: ‘So I’ve just come out the supermarket. There’s no fruit and veg and I had a little cry in there.’ 

‘I’m a critical care nurse and I’ve just finished 48 hours of work and I just wanted to get some stuff in for the next 48 hours. 

‘There’s no fruit, there’s no vegetables and I just don’t know how I’m supposed to stay healthy. 

‘Those people who are just stripping the shelves have basic foods you just need to stop it because it’s people like me that are going to be looking after you when you are at your lowest and just stop it please!’  

NHS workers can visit large Tesco stores an hour before the usual opening time every Sunday from tomorrow.

And Marks & Spencer is now dedicating the first hour on Tuesdays and Fridays to emergency workers and the first hour on Mondays and Thursdays will be dedicated to elderly and vulnerable customers.  

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) wrote to store chiefs suggesting the urgent measures. 

Chief nursing officer for England, Ruth May, said: ‘We’re asking all supermarkets to allow all of our healthcare workers easy access to buy their food and vegetables.’ 

The RCN urged supermarkets to provide priority access to people working in health and care — and to hold back certain items such as toilet paper for all nursing staff.

The HCSA, the hospital doctors’ union, has asked supermarkets to allow medical staff to place orders that they can collect later when they are off shift.  

Susan Maple, aged 77, wiped back tears as she waited outside an Iceland store in Harborne, Birmingham. 

She was trying to buy supplies for her 90-year-old neighbour who ‘can’t get out’. 

Fellow shopper John Merrill, 76, said: ‘I’ve got some things here which I couldn’t get earlier like margarine and toilet rolls. People don’t need to stockpile, it’s just stupid.’ 

Social media users have been heaping scorn on shoppers who are taking more than their fair share of precious groceries using the hashtag #stophoarding – calling on their countrymen to be considerate and take only what they need. 

The coronavirus has killed 177 people in the UK so far and some 3,355 people are infected with the illness. 

In other developments: 

• Ikea has become the first major retailer to close stores to limit the spread of coronavirus. All 22 outlets shut up shop at 6pm yesterday and are unlikely to open for weeks; 
• Police have been asked to patrol outside some supermarkets to deter violence; 
• Co-op is to fast track its recruitment of 5,000 people to cope with demand and will provide temporary employment for hospitality workers who have lost their jobs; 
• M&S is following other stores by introducing rationing to limit panic buying. There will be a cap of two items per customer when buying frozen foods, groceries and eggs; 
• Sainsbury’s will give online customers who are over 70 or with a disability priority access to its delivery slots; 
• Harrods shut most of the store at 7pm last night – only the food hall and pharmacy will remain open. Other stores are expected to follow Tesco and M&S and offer special hours for medical staff