Thousands pictured outside B&Q as chain eases restrictions and reopens 155 stores

DIY chain B&Q sent shoppers into meltdown on Thursday morning after opening dozens more stores, following a trial over the weekend.

The essential retailer, which has reopened 155 branches in total, welcomed thousands of customers ahead of the three day heatwave.

B&Q has been closed since the end of March after the UK was put into lockdown, although customers have been able to use click and collect services to purchase goods.

However, it's now reopened with new safety measures in place.

Under government guidelines, hardware stores are allowed to open during the critical period, however, customers should focus on 'essential' items only and staff safety should be a priority.

But, as hoards of shoppers fill up car parks across the UK, it's placed a question mark on whether sales will have an 'essential' focus.

The first two branches reopened on Saturday morning - at Paisley and West Thurrock (SWNS)

The company said it's now introduced strict social distancing measures to safeguard both shoppers and staff.

A spokesman said there are two metre floor markers throughout stores to help people keep their distance and perspex screens at the checkouts.

Services such as kitchen and bathroom design, paint mixing, timber cutting and key cutting have also been suspended.

The store will also only be accepting card and contactless payments.

Will you be heading to your local store? (Tom Maddick / SWNS)

Like many retailers, it's restricting the number of people allowed in at a time (Tom Maddick / SWNS)

A B&Q spokesman said: "As an essential retailer, we’ve watched other essential retailers support social distancing in their stores and are now in a position to follow best practice and re-open a small number of our stores as a trial, while keeping our colleagues and customers safe.

"We’re strictly limiting the number of customers in store at any one time, and so customers may need to queue before entering the store.

"To help remind everyone to respect each other’s personal space, we have two metre floor markers throughout these stores and also Perspex screens at the checkouts."

(SWNS)

Customers visiting the stores will only be able to buy products that are available in the store on the day.

All of the B&Q stores now open

• Aberdeen 
• Bamber Bridge 
• Basildon 
• Blackpool 
• Bolton
• Bury 
• Cardiff 
• Cardiff (Culverhouse Cross) 
• Cheetham Hill 
• Chester 
• Chiswick 
• Coventry (Brandon Road) 
• Crewe 
• Croydon 
• Darnley 
• Dearne Valley 
• Derby 
• Doncaster 
• Dundee 
• East Kilbride 
• Edinburgh 
• Enfield 
• Erdington
• Exeter 
• Fareham
• Farnborough 
• Gillingham 
• Glasshoughton 
• Gloucester  
• Great Western Rd 
• Great Yarmouth
• Grimsby 
• Halesowen 
• Hartcliffe 
• Havant 
• Huddersfield 
• Ipswich 
• Leeds 
• Leicester 
• Meir Park 
• Milton Keynes 
• New Malden 
• Newtownabbey 
• North Shields 
• Northampton 
• Norwich 
• Nottingham 
• Nursling, Paisley 
• Peterborough 
• Plymouth 
• Queens Road 
• Reading 
• Romford 
• Scotswood
• Slough 
• Solihull 
• Southend 
• St Andrews Quay 
• St.Helens 
• Stockport 
• Stockton 
• Sutton 
• Sutton in Ashfield 
• Swansea 
• Trafford Park 
• Wallasey 
• Warrington
• Washington 
• Watford 
• Wednesbury 
• West Thurrock