A delivery driver has hit out at Brits ordering clothes and 'tat' online during the coronavirus crisis - saying she has more non-essential parcels to deliver than ever before.
The self-employed driver, who remained anonymous, shared photo showing a pile of 120 orders she was given to deliver in one day to a single housing estate in Manchester.
The mountain of packages includes deliveries from clothing retailers including ASOS, Zara and Pretty Little Thing.
She said the following day she was left with a similar task and the volume of orders far exceeds the usual number on a standard day before the COVID-19 lockdown.
The courier, who has been given key worker status due to her role, has slammed people for using their time to go 'spending sprees'.
The mum hit out, saying: "While you keep ordering online, workers in warehouses are risking their lives having to keep picking and packing it, and us couriers have to keep putting ourselves at risk collecting from crowded depots to deliver it.
"My load on Friday was 120 just for a small estate. There was another 104 waiting for me the next morning - all non-essential.
"We understand we are key workers, and we are happy to do our job and risk our lives and the lives of others to deliver essential key items for people to survive during the lockdown.
"I've delivered Superdrug packages which I'm sure are full of handwash, and educational items from places like The Works - all that is totally fair enough.
"But when people are ordering clothes online, that is madness. I don't understand where they're going in this stuff anyway at the moment?
"120 parcels in a day is much higher than the average number I was delivering pre-coronavirus. The worst thing is, I have to go back to the same homes three days later to pick up the items when people decide they want to return them anyway.
"Shoppers are not thinking about the impact they are having."
The worker doesn't blame her employer, but urges others to think about how necessary their online purchases really are, saying couriers are becoming more 'scared'.
She said they are all willing to work and do their bit to deliver essential items, but didn't want to risk themselves unnecessarily.
"We get paid per parcel, but at the moment I would rather come in and find 10 parcels which are clearly all essential, than 120 which aren't," she added.
"If you continue to buy things you don't need, you are forcing people to risk their lives in packed warehouses packing the items too.
"The high street shops have shut, so why are online clothes retailers still able to sell?
"If it was a small business struggling to survive I could understand more but these are big multi-million pound companies. It just seems crazy."
