Shropshire Star

County store bans Heelys

Children on wheeled shoes are racing down supermarket aisles and scaring shoppers across Shropshire - but one county supermarket has called a halt to their antics.

Published
Supporting image.

The craze for Heelys, which have wheels in the heel, has taken off among children and teenagers. And the youngsters have discovered that the best places to slide along on their new toys are supermarket aisles.

Now Tesco, at Wrekin Retail Park, has imposed a blanket ban on the shoes and warning signs have gone up.

The supermarket took the decision after complaints from customers and incidents elsewhere in the country where people had been injured.

Long stretches of slippy floor provide the perfect arena for a Heely wearer, with trolley-pushers and shoppers selecting their vegetables seemingly providing a welcome obstacle course.

On an internet community for young people, one user commented: "My Heelys r awesome I love 2 go 2 Tesco and whiz down the aisle it's so fun. Heelys rock!"

Another, calling themselves Heely Dudette, commented: "I am 12 and I have had my Heelys for almost eight months now.

"I take them everywhere and I just love them so much! It's the best in shops like Tesco or Sainsbury's cuz the floor is so smooth!"

A spokesman for Tesco said it was up to individual managers whether they banned the shoes.

"There are quite often complaints from other customers and some concern over accidents," he added.

"It just depends on the scale of the problem in the particular area. They are certainly not banned in all stores."

David Simmons, a manager at Asda in Donnington, Telford, said youths on Heelys often proved a "nightmare" for staff and customers.

"They are not banned but we have taken the approach that when we see people racing along on them we talk to them and ask them to stop.

"Of course we want everyone to be welcome to shop here but we also have to think of the health and safety of our customers, some of whom are not fully able to dodge out the way."

Sainsbury's at Meole Brace Retail Park in Shrewsbury said it had not encountered the problem so had not banned anyone.

By Dave West