SUPERMARKET staff in Gloucestershire have said they are “dreading” going to work because of abuse from shoppers flouting in-store Covid safety measures.

Workers at major retail chains have criticised the blase attitude shown by customers who can “essentially do what they like”, but some have been told by employers not to challenge those breaking the rules.

Measures such as compulsory mask-wearing and limits on the number of shoppers allowed in store remain in place in most supermarkets but are being routinely ignored, according to staff.

A staff member at a branch of Tesco in Gloucestershire, who is currently off work having had Covid-19, said she was “horrified” by responses she had received after challenging customers.

“I find, and so do my colleagues, that it’s not as strict as the first lockdown,” she said.

“We have people refusing to wear masks, customers not social-distancing.

“I asked a customer where his mask was and he hit the roof, telling me (coronavirus) is not real and it’s the Government making it all up – I was horrified.

“I’m dreading going back, to be honest.”

Some supermarkets have said they will step up enforcement of in-store Covid measures and that safety remains the “top priority”.

Morrisons said customers who refuse to wear a mask without a medical exemption will be told to leave its stores.

While Sainsbury’s said its security staff will “challenge” shoppers who are not wearing masks or who enter stores in groups.

But staff members at other chains said they have been told not to challenge customers and that those claiming to be exempt often cannot produce proof.