Asda shoppers queued around the entire store this evening as the shop reopened following the Queen's funeral. The supermarket giant along with others announced they would be closing from midnight on Sunday before reopening at 5pm on Monday after the state funeral.
And shortly after the shutters reopened, shoppers were caught instantly heading for the supermarket, with huge queues around the entire store in Manchester. Video footage shows a line of people with full trolleys queuing up for the checkout, with other trolleys abandoned in the aisles.
Other supermarkets, such as Sainsbury’s, previously announced that all its stores would be closed on the day of the funeral except for the convenience stores and petrol stations, which opened from 5pm to 10pm for essentials. All Morrisons stores closed, with just their petrol stations reopening at 5pm, with only Tesco Express stores opening from 5pm apart from a select few in London.
READ MORE McDonald's customers queue round the corner as stores reopen after Queen's funeral
And elsewhere in the region, hungry customers queued around the block as McDonald's branches also reopened. The fast food giant shut its 1,300 UK restaurants on Monday daytime as a mark of respect on the day of the Queen's funeral. However, as the clock struck five, one McDonald's branch in Bury already welcomed a queue of cars.
Asda Eastlands Supercentre saw huge crowds of shoppers flood to the doors for 5pm. One customer who took the videos told the MEN that there was a 'queue to get into the car park' which was made worse by the McDonald's and petrol station on site.
"Honestly we got there at around 5.45pm and there was already a queue all the way around the store," they told the M.E.N. "From what we saw there was a few main tills on and then the self service tills.
"The shelves were already becoming bare, there was a queue just to get into the car park, but there is also a petrol station and a McDonald's there so that made things worse.
"It was dead busy and the shelves were already becoming bare. Luckily, we got in the self service queues and didn't have to wait that long. Some people were just leaving their trolleys because it was so busy."
Asda announced that the stores would be closing on Monday until 5pm, previously saying in a statement: “As a mark of respect for Her Majesty The Queen, all Asda stores will be closed on Monday, September 19, until 5pm, to allow our customers and colleagues to recognise the passing of our late monarch and commemorate her steadfast service to our nation.”
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