SCOTLAND'S national charity for older people has urged all supermarkets to give priority slots for older shoppers at all supermarkets during the coronavirus pandemic.

Age Scotland has called on other supermarkets to join Sainsbury's, Iceland, Tesco and Asda by setting aside the first hour of opening exclusively for pensioners and more vulnerable shoppers.

It comes as the Herald was told by a reliable source that a uniformed police officer was seen at the front door of Sainsbury's in Kirkintilloch as younger people were trying in vain to get in to shop during the priority hour for the elderly. The officer was approached by one non-OAP who said she needed to get in.

Age Scotland said: "It’s important that these measures are respected."

Police Scotland could not refute the account, but said: "Officers are not routinely patrolling or being deployed to supermarkets."

READ MORE: Coronavirus -  Asda, Co-op & Tesco step up products rationing amidst panic buying

It comes as the government said it was temporarily relaxing elements of competition law as part of a package of measures to allow supermarkets to work together to feed the nation.

The move allows retailers to share data with each other on stock levels, cooperate to keep shops open, or share distribution depots and delivery vans. It would also allow retailers to pool staff with one another to help meet demand.

The Environment Secretary George Eustice confirmed elements of the law would be temporarily waived in a meeting this afternoon with chief executives from the UK’s leading supermarkets and food industry representatives.

The Herald:

Supermarkets have been expecting to get police support to deter unruly behaviour if London goes into lockdown because of the coronavirus.

Andrew Opie, from the British Retail Consortium, the industry body representing supermarkets, said retailers were well-versed in providing effective security measures.

He said: "Retailers across the country are working closely with police and other partners to keep retail sites running as smoothly as possible.

"Any forms of abusive or violent behaviour will not be tolerated and retailers will continue to work with the police to protect their staff and customers."

From tomorrow Asda and Tesco stores across the country will join Sainsbury's and Iceland to set aside the first hour of opening exclusively for older and more vulnerable shoppers.

This will allow pensioners who might be unwilling or unable to put their health at risk by shopping during busy times to stock on vital food and household supplies.

Sainsbury's is also giving customers aged over 70 priority access to online delivery slots.

Age Scotland said it welcomed the initiative by the supermarkets who, the charity said, have made changes for pensioners and disabled customers and "appreciates the hard work" being done by shop staff working tirelessly to keep supermarket supplies available for everyone.

"Our helpline has received a number of calls from older people worried about getting out to the shops because of the risk of infection, not being able to get the basic food that they need when they do get there, and the non-availability of home delivery slots," said an Age Scotland spokesman.

In one case the son of a 93-year-old woman who lives alone in Fort William was trying to book a Tesco delivery slot for his mother's weekly shop but could not get an available slot for three weeks, by which time his mother would have run out of essential supplies.

Brian Sloan, chief executive of Age Scotland, said:"Retailers are working flat out to ensure that shops are open and shelves are full. Their staff are doing a laudable job keeping up with the increased demand. But many older people are finding it hard to get to the shops, when they have been advised to minimise social contact, and equally difficult to get an online delivery when they need it.

"We have received a number of calls from older people worried about getting out to the shops because of the risk of infection, not being able to get the basic food that they need when they do get there, and the non-availability of home delivery slots.

"While we very much welcome the decision by Sainsbury's to prioritise both in-shop and online older customers, we would like to see all supermarkets follow their example.

"This is a challenging enough time for older people who are at higher risk of becoming severely unwell if they contract coronavirus, without also having to be afraid of running out of food.

"Surely all the large supermarkets who rely on the loyal custom of older people can ensure they can get vital food deliveries when they need them and set aside at least one hour to allow older shoppers to visit their store safely.

"We look forward to hearing from all the supermarkets on this urgent matter."

In an email to customers Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe said before operating the priority hour for the elderly: "I hope that you can respect this decision and will work with us as we try our best to help those that need it the most."

As the coronavirus outbreak has caused panic buying in the UK, leaving supermarket shelves empty as shoppers fear the UK could soon be put on lockdown, efforts to stem the tide have included rationing and changing store opening times.

At Sainsbury's you can only buy up to three of any grocery products and a maximum of two of the most in-demand products, including toilet paper, soap and UHT milk.

Aldi is currently limiting customers to buying four items of any one product during each store visit to ensure that everyone gets what they need.

From Friday Aldi stores will be closing earlier at 8pm, while Sunday opening hours will remain unchanged, except in Scotland where all stores will close at 6pm. The discounter is also encouraging social distancing and the use of contactless payments. But at the time of writing, there was no special opening times for the elderly or vulnerable.

Asda has limited customers to buying no more than three of any products across all food items, toiletries and cleaning products to ensure availability for everyone online and in stores. Its 24-hour stores will be temporarily closed between midnight and 6am to provide enough time for staff to re-stock and thoroughly clean stores.

It is understood Lidl is limiting customers to four items on a range of products, including tinned foods, pasta and toilet paper. It has changed its daily opening hours to 8am to 8pm until further notice to help give staff extra time to restock shelves and clean stores.

Morrisons has capped the quantity of certain high-demand products in its online orders but hasn’t clarified the specific amount available to individual customers.

From Thursday, Tesco shoppers could only buy three items per customer on every product line, while multi-buy promotions will no longer be available. It has also changed its opening hours, with all stores now closing at 10pm.

Meanwhile at Tesco's Sauchiehall Street store, staff were making up packs for the elderly including toilet roll and pasta which have been paid for from a community fund.

A Sainsbury's spokesman said: “We can reassure our customers that no one was turned away from the Kirkintilloch Sainsbury’s yesterday morning and no police officers were called to the store. We know our elderly and vulnerable customers appreciated the early access and we’re listening to feedback from our customers and colleagues.”