B&M has clarified its rules on whether or not customers can shop in pairs.
The budget store clarified the guidelines after a sign outside a store said pairs were not permitted.
The notice, facing shoppers in the socially-distanced queue to get in, said those browsing together, in pairs, would be asked to leave, reports Kent Live.
It was spotted outside a unit in Folkestone on Monday, May 18, and has since been taken down after a spokesman said it did not reflect B&M's wider policy on social distancing.
While shopping alone is encouraged during the coroanvirus crisis and endorsed by many supermarkets, a spokesperson has now clarified B&M's guidelines.
"Our policy is that customers should shop alone where they can, we appreciate that this isn’t always possible for customers so we do make allowances," the spokesman said.
What are the rules at B&M?
During busy periods B&M asks people to queue up outside, where a one-in-one-out policy applies to keep the numbers down inside.
If it's a hot and sunny day, or raining, customers are offered umbrellas while they wait.
Trolleys and baskets are also disinfected before the next person gets to use them.
The two metre social distancing markers remain on the floor in the stores, with people free to browse aisles at their leisure.
When it's time to pay, shoppers are asked to wait on a yellow line before being called forward to a till.
Checkouts have protective screens and staff have sanitiser, face masks and gloves.
