TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

UK: Dad protests in PANTS at Tesco over Wales 'non-essential' items rule

UK: Dad protests in PANTS at Tesco over Wales 'non-essential' items rule

Chris Noden, 38, was stopped by security staff as he tried to push his trolley into the Tesco store in Newport, south Wales wearing just his boxers and a face mask.

* Chris Noden, 38, walked into Newport's Tesco in just his boxers and a face mask

* He and wife Dawn argued with security that clothes were deemed 'non-essential'

* Wales was plunged into a draconian 'firebreak' lockdown from 6pm Friday night

* Shops stopped from selling some goods including clothes, and people are asked to stay at home



A dad attempted to shop at a Welsh supermarket wearing just his boxer shorts and a facemask in protest at Wales' ban on selling 'non-essential' items in supermarkets.

Chris Noden, 38, was stopped by security staff as he tried to push his trolley into the Tesco store in Newport, Gwent.

Furious wife Dawn, 33, filmed him as he tried to access the store, demanding: 'Clothes are non essential - let him in.'

Dawn tells the workers: 'Clothes are deemed now non-essential. Your stores policy says clothes are non essential.

'Let him in to buy some clothes.

'This is beyond a joke. There are children out there growing that need clothes.'

But a security guards says: 'He's not appropriately dressed. Go and take it up with the government.'

'You can't come in dressed like that.'

When the staff say they won't let him in, Dawn repeats: 'So clothes are essential to day-to-day life?'

The worker replies: 'Of course they are.'

The couple were turned away but Dawn later posted the video online saying: 'Please note that no lockdown rules were broken, nobody was put at risk, this non essentials list is beyond a joke! Clothes aren't essential are they Mr Drakefold.

'Chocolate, sugar, alcohol and tobacco all classed as essential items?'

A Tesco spokesperson said in response to the incident: 'Under new restrictions set out by the Welsh Government, we are currently unable to sell "non-essential" items in our stores.

'Our colleagues have worked hard to put these measures in place and we ask that customers please respect these restrictions.'

Dawn said she posted the message in response to mum Chelsea Jones telling how she was unable to buy new pyjamas for her hospitalised daughter whose old clothes had got covered in blood.

Chelsea said: 'Please someone tell me how it's not essential that I pop to the closest supermarket to the hospital (which is 5 minutes away) to get my daughter new underwear and pyjamas as hers are soaked in blood.'

Chelsea was forced to make a 40 mile round trip home from the hospital in Cardiff to Llwynypia, Rhondda, to get replacements.

Wales was plunged into a draconian 'firebreak' lockdown at 6pm on Friday and it is expected to wreck the Welsh economy.

Under the move, which will last 17 days, people have to stay home and leave only for a limited reasons, including exercise, buying essential goods or to provide care.

However, some 17,000 people have signed a petition for the Welsh Government to reduce the restrictions.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said the restriction was a 'matter of fairness' as non-essential retail has to close during the two-week period, which began at 6pm on Friday and will last until November 9.

Guidance published by the Welsh Government says certain sections of supermarkets must be 'cordoned off or emptied, and closed to the public'.

These include areas selling electrical goods, telephones, clothes, toys and games, garden products and dedicated sections for homewares.

Supplies for the 'essential upkeep, maintenance and functioning of the household' - such as batteries, lightbulbs and rubber gloves - can be sold during the lockdown.

But anger over the rule has already spilt over, with a 28-year-old man being charged with criminal damage and breaching coronavirus regulations after plastic sheets were torn off banned 'non-essential' in another Tesco store.

Video posted on social media showed covers being ripped down at the company's Bangor outlet on Friday night, after staff had tried to wrap up shelves of items to comply with rules.

North Wales Police said Gwilym Owen, from Anglesey, has been further charged with several public order offences.

He is due before magistrates on Caernarfon on November 24.

Images posted on social media showed aisles selling products such as children's clothes, greetings cards and books blocked off, with plastic sheeting placed over items to prevent shoppers from accessing them.

The petition called the rules 'disproportionate and cruel'.

'We do not agree that this is a prudent or rational measure, and will create more harm than good,' the petition states.

'We do not agree for example that parents should be barred from buying clothes for their children during lockdown while out shopping.

'This is disproportionate and cruel and we ask that the decision be reversed immediately.'

Conservative MS Russell George said it was 'unfair' to force independent clothing and hardware retailers to shut while similar goods were on sale in major supermarkets.

On Saturday, Andrew RT Davies, shadow health minister of the Welsh Conservatives, called for the ban to be 'dropped immediately'.

He said: 'I have never witnessed such a fierce backlash against a decision from the Welsh Labour Government.

'This ludicrous ban has caused real anger across Wales and it's not fair on those staff working in our supermarkets, and the general Welsh public who are already at their wit's end with a difficult fortnight looming.'




Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×