Tesco insists tampons ARE available to all customers in Wales and says aisle was only closed because of a break-in - before tweet 'confirming' ban was sent ‘by mistake’

The Welsh 'trolley police' sparked fury this morning after women in Tesco were told they could not buy sanitary towels - because they were non-essential items.

Details of the extraordinary restriction were tweeted by the supermarket online after a complaint from a shopper, known only as Katie from the Cardiff store.

It sparked a brief disagreement between Tesco and the Welsh Government as the shop blamed the authority - while it claimed they were wrong.

Katie had said: 'Can you explain why I was told today that I can't buy period pads as I'm sure they are essential to women?!!! But I can buy alcohol it doesn't make sense.'

Then, in a now-deleted post Tesco responded: 'We understand how frustrating these changed will be for our Welsh customers.

'However, we have been told by the Welsh Government not to sell these items for the duration of the firebreak lockdown.'

It prompted the authority to get involved and issue a terse statement saying the supermarket, whose location is not known, were incorrect.

The Welsh Government insisted: '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.'

Tesco this morning issued an apology and said pictures of barriers near the items were actually only there after a police incident, unrelated to the new rules.

A spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Sanitary products are essential items and are available to customers in all of our stores in Wales.

'Due to a break-in, this area was closed temporarily in one store for a police investigation, but is now open again.

'The reply to this customer, which implied these products were non-essential, was sent by mistake and we’re very sorry for any confusion caused.'

It is understood the fencing was being urgently reversed.

Nichola-Louise Smith found the sanitary towel section closed off at the Tesco store in St Mellons, Cardiff, yesterday

One Twitter user posted an image from her Tesco which showed the products caged off from members of the public

There were barriers also in place which stopped customers from accessing the isles where the items were being displayed

Tesco told a shopper called Katie that the items could not be solder under Welsh rules, sparking widespread online outrage

It came as rules descended further into confusion today as ministers said people can buy non-essential goods in supermarkets - but only if they are essential.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced a rethink of the terms of the 17-day 'firebreak' coronavirus lockdown after admitting that the public was 'fed up' and 'common sense' was needed.

A backlash has been gathering pace, with tens of thousands of people signing a petition amid bewilderment that alcohol is seen as 'essential' but school uniform, vacuum cleaners and hairdryers are not.

Supermarkets have actively taped off shelves of ordinary goods, blocking off entire aisles or covering them in plastic.

But Labour leader Mr Drakeford and his team have risked compounding the chaos by saying that shops can now use their 'discretion'.

Health minister Vaughan Gething said customers should be allowed to buy 'otherwise non-essential goods' if there were 'exceptional circumstances' that meant they were essential.

Lockdown climbdown?

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford appeared to be heading for a climbdown over strict measures he introduced last week.

The politician had furiously defended the plans when quizzed over them before the weekend.

But after two days of chaos he appeared to be softening on the hard line call.

He said: 'We'll be reviewing how the weekend has gone with the supermarkets and making sure that common sense is applied.

'Supermarkets can sell anything that can be sold in any other type of shop that isn't required to close.

'In the meantime, please only leave home if you need to.'

Mr Gething told Sky News this morning that they were 'clarifying' the rules.

'We are looking to have that clarity for everyone so you don’t see cards for example sealed up in one shop but available in another,' he said.

He added: 'If there really are exceptional circumstances and someone needs what would otherwise be a non-essential item, that that can happen as well.’

Mr Drakeford ducked out of an interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr show yesterday as the controversy raged.

But he told ITV Wales News last night that he understood people might need to buy non-essential products 'for entirely unexpected reasons which they couldn't have foreseen' during the 17-day period.

Around 60,000 people have signed a petition submitted to the Welsh Parliament calling for the ban to be immediately reversed.

Under the firebreak lockdown, which began at 6pm on Friday and will end on November 9, non-essential retail including clothes shops, furniture stores and car dealerships must close.

Supermarkets have been told they must only sell essential items to discourage people from spending more time than necessary in shops and be fair to retailers who have to shut.

Mr Drakeford said: 'I won't need – I don't think – to buy clothing over this two weeks and I think many, many people in Wales will be in that position too.

'For me, it won't be essential. But I recognise that there will be some people who for entirely unexpected reasons which they couldn't have foreseen will need to buy items.

'In those circumstances where those welfare reasons are at stake, we will make sure that our supermarkets understand they have the discretion to apply the rules differently.'

Mr Drakeford said ministers would meet with supermarkets today to discuss the ban.

Whole areas of supermarkets have been closed off in line with the restrictions imposed by Welsh ministers before Saturday

Retailers have been ordered to sell only essential goods and so many supermarket aisles are roped off and products covered

Items including children's clothes are covered up 'in line with government guidelines' at a supermarket in Cardiff today

Labour leader Mr Drakeford has been facing criticism over the ban on non-essential sales during the 'firebreak' lockdown

Furious father strips down to his PANTS before attempting to enter Tesco in Wales

Amid widespread protests against the rules, Chris Noden went shopping in Newport, Gwent wearing just his boxer shorts and a face mask because 'clothes are non essential items'

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.'

He added: 'They will want to do the right thing, I know, and our job is to be alongside them to make sure that is clear for everybody.'

He also refused to rule out the possibility of a second firebreak lockdown in Wales early next year.

The current restrictions should give a pathway to Christmas 'without needing a period of this severity of restraint between now and then', he said.

'In the new year, who knows what position we will face,' Mr Drakeford said.

'If things were to be again as serious as they are in Wales today, nobody can rule out us needing to take further extraordinary measures.

'But if we do, it will be because it is the only way that we are able to deal with this deadly virus.'

The ban on selling non-essential items was announced in the Senedd on Thursday after 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.

Yesterday the Welsh Retail Consortium called for the restriction to be 'dropped quickly'.

It warned that the 'safe flow of customers' could be undermined due to changes in store layouts to cordon off areas.

Guidance previously published by the Welsh Government said certain sections of supermarkets must be 'cordoned off or emptied, and closed to the public' during the two-week lockdown.

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

Paul Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, has asked for the Welsh Parliament to be recalled so members can discuss the ban.

He described the popularity of the petition as a 'clear sign' that people in Wales want the rule 'scrapped immediately'.

Under the firebreak rules, people can only leave their home for limited reasons, such as to buy food and medicine, provide care or take exercise, and must work from home where possible.

Leisure, hospitality and tourism businesses are closed, along with community centres, libraries and recycling centres, while places of worship are shut other than for funerals or wedding ceremonies.

Yesterday 1,104 people were reported to have tested positive for coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 42,681.

Public Health Wales said five people with Covid-19 had died, with the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic rising to 1,777.

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick. Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o

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