Man buys ‘gobsmacking’ amount of pasta in Aldi amid plea for people not to stockpile

A man was caught on camera buying mountains of pasta in Aldi amid pleas for people not to stockpile items at the start of England’s second national lockdown.

Stuart Darben, who was shopping with his partner in the supermarket, said he was “gobsmacked” when he saw the customer loading the goods on to the conveyer belt.

The man also bought a haul of rice and tortilla chips while shopping in the store in Lincoln on Tuesday.

Mr Darben shared the image on Facebook under the caption: “People getting greedy in Aldi.”

He told Lincolnshire Live: "I was gobsmacked with what I saw and the shopper in front of me was too.

“I could see another staff member looking at the till but I don't think he wanted to say anything.”

Aldi introduced a four item limit in the first lockdown but has not announced the reintroduction of any buying restrictions. However, it is asking shoppers to only purchase "what they need".

An Aldi Spokesperson said: “We have good availability across all of our stores and there are regular deliveries, at least once a day.

"There is no need for customers to buy more than they normally would.”

Retailers have urged shoppers to exercise restraint and consideration for others, insisting there is no need to bulk-buy ahead of the new restrictions which came into force on Thursday morning.

Under the nationwide shutdown, food shops, supermarkets and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services will be allowed to stay open. However, restaurants, bars, pubs and “non-essential" stores must close.

Maria White shopped at a Lidl in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, on Monday evening to find empty shelves where usually there was bread, vegetables and meat.

Ms White, who works for a web design site, said despite the supermarket not appearing as busy as during the first lockdown, seeing the empty shelves “triggered” other shoppers to buy extra items.“

"A gentleman bought about 30 bottles of water of two litres each,” the 35-year-old said. “Another lady grabbed about 10 packages of pasta and a few sauces.