Weymouth Asda: Missing baskets cause concern for shoppers

Shopper Gillian Crosby said she was unable to use a basket on two occasions on shopping trips to Asda Weymouth earlier this week - and was told that they had been stolen.  

She was also disappointed to find that the escalator to the first floor of the Newstead Road shop was out of order.

There have been reports around the country at various stores of baskets being pinched, which could be linked to charges being introduced for shopping bags.

Asda Weymouth has now taken delivery of a new set of baskets - and is urging customers to make sure they return them after shopping.

Mrs Crosby, of Wyke Regis, said she was forced to use her own bag to put her shopping in and then unloaded it at the till.

She said: "When I got to the till and asked the lady on the till about there being no baskets she got the manager and I was told that the baskets had been stolen and they were expecting some new ones.

"I don't know why there couldn't have been a sign up on the door, it's the lack of communication that bothers me.

"All it takes is a courteous notice to apologise for the lack of baskets."

Mrs Crosby, who is retired, said she would like to see security cameras used to monitor shoppers who take baskets away with them.

"It wasn't that easy to shop there because the escalator was broken and I would normally pick something up from the first floor, put it in a basket and come back down to the ground floor and get some more shopping there," she said.

An Asda spokesman said that 'unfortunately our baskets do sometimes go missing' but a new delivery of baskets was made to the shop on Tuesday night.

The shop's escalator has been out of order due to a 'technical issue' and was expected to be fixed in the next 48 hours. 

The spokesman said: “Our Weymouth store recently received a delivery of new baskets for customers who would like to use one whilst shopping in our store.

"We ask that customers please return their shopping baskets when they finish using them.”