Asda store stops chaining up trolleys to help customers… and over 100 immediately disappear
The scheme was brought in to make life easier for shoppers but has so far been rewarded with £19,000 worth of theft
AN Asda supermarket has lost more than HALF of its trolleys after a bid to help customers by removing chains spectacularly misfired.
Bosses at the store in Fleetwood, Lancs, were left flabbergasted after 126 of their fleet - worth a whopping £19,000 - went missing in the three months after Christmas.
They were trying to help customers who often struggle to find a £1 coin to operate the locks before shopping.
But the plan has so far seen a spate of thefts of the trolleys, which are valued at £150 each.
Layla Challoner, from Asda's community team, said: "We have a big issue with trolleys at the minute.
"You used to have to place £1 or a trolley token to access a trolley but not everyone carries cash on them nowadays, so to make it easier we stopped it, but since then we have lost an awful lot.
"We have gone from having 250 in December to 124 last week, so we have lost over half.
"I have seen them lying round everywhere after people have used them, so it's becoming an issue in Fleetwood.
"We want to make our customers have easy access to them every time they come into the store, so the more we have the better, especially at busy periods."
The store in Fleetwood is understood to be the only of the UK's 600 odd Asda stores to have piloted the trust-based scheme so far.
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Rival supermarket giant Morrisons rolled out a similar strategy in 2014 in a move designed to take the fuss out of shopping.
The supermarket's research found that 43 per cent of customers find trolley locks inconvenient, while more than one in four - 27 per cent - do not always have the right change.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of any of the trolleys should call 01253 879400.
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