Tesco shoppers outraged as supermarket barricades off ‘non-essential’ goods during lockdown: ‘What if a child is in need of clothes?’

Tesco shoppers have expressed outrage after finding that the supermarket has blocked off “non-essential” goods in some of its stores.

A number of people have begun sharing photos on Twitter of their local supermarkets, showing access to mezzanine levels being blocked by stacks of products, such as beer and chocolates.

Social media users have expressed their outrage at not being able to purchase items they believe to be essential which are located on these separate levels, including children's clothes and appliances.

One image circulating on Twitter shows tins of Christmas chocolates and crates of beer surrounding escalators at a store in Walsall, while another features metal barricades blocking off rails of clothing at the Streatham branch of the supermarket.

Other stores that customers have said are implementing similar measures include Bulwell, Barrow, Borehamwood, Hattersley, Wigan and Broadstairs.

“Can you explain why baby clothes are not essential as I have a new born who is less than a week old and can’t buy tiny baby size as your store in Hindley, Wigan has blocked off the clothing section? Or maybe you’d prefer my child to be naked?” one person wrote on Twitter.

Another commented: “Went into local@Tesco to buy some winter clothes for my daughter to find that the children’s/baby clothes have been blocked off. Still able to buy Christmas decorations and tacky gift sets but not essential clothing?! My child doesn’t stop growing just because we’re in lockdown!”

A third person wrote: “Disappointed to see after the uproar of blocking off clothing, toys, homeware etc sections in one of your stores in Wales, you've now done this in your Streatham Extra store. I can buy booze, but not a kettle or underwear.”

A Tesco spokesperson told The Independent that the measures have been taken to adhere to government guidelines.

“In line with new government guidance in England which requires the closure of separate floors selling non-food items, we have closed the Clothing and General Merchandise departments in our stores that sell these products from a separate mezzanine level,” they said.

The move has left some shoppers confused about the latest guidelines after they were assured essential retailers would be permitted to sell all and any goods in their stores.

When asked whether shoppers would find some supermarket aisles fenced-off during the four week lockdown, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman last week said: “No. You’re familiar with how this operated in March, April and parts of May, and I would expect it to be the same again.”

In the government's guidance, it states that any essential retailers can continue to sell all goods.

“A business selling a significant amount of essential retail may also continue to sell goods typically sold at non-essential retail,” the guidelines read. “For example, a supermarket that sells food is not required to close off or cordon off aisles selling homeware.”

However, it continues to state that this only applies to stores where the items considered to be non-essential are on the same level as essential goods.

“Where a business has sufficiently distinct parts, and one section provides essential retail and one section provides non-essential retail, the non-essential sections should close to limit interactions between customers and the opportunity for the disease to spread,” it states.

“Sufficiently distinct sections might involve operating in separate buildings, across separate floors, a door between sections, using separate cashiers, or another clear demarcation between sections.”

The complaints follow similar scenes from Wales during its “Firebreak” lockdown last month.

Welsh residents were left furious after parts of supermarkets, including sections that sold baby clothes and sanitary products, were taped off to prevent the purchase of what were considered “non-essential” items.

One customer wrote that she was “raging and in tears” after not being able to buy period products at Tesco’s St Mellons store in Cardiff after the aisle was blocked off.

In a tweet that was later deleted, Tesco replied that it had been told not to sell the items during the country’s two-week lockdown.

The Welsh government swiftly tweeted an apology to the customer, writing: “This is wrong – period products are essential.  

“Supermarkets can still sell items that can be sold in pharmacies. Only selling essential items during firebreak is to discourage spending more time than necessary in shops. It should not stop you accessing items that you need.”