NEWSAGENTS say threats from troublesome customers have fallen in the city, despite national news reports that abuse aimed at shopkeepers has been on the rise.

Staff from corner shops in Worcestershire say they haven’t experienced the rise in abuse aimed at shop owners that was reported nationally on Thursday (May 27).

One shop owner felt the bad behaviour had settled since the last lockdown.

Kate Clarke, owner of Sean’s News and Postoffice, in High Street, Upton, said: “Let shop-owner abuse stop across the board! It’s gotten worse in certain places but thankfully it’s stopped here and we want it to stay that way.”

She added: “One customer caused trouble right in front of a Covid advisor, which was shocking”.

Mrs Clarke felt many of the abusive incidents she had with customers last year was due to anxiety surrounding the pandemic.

She said: “I think people didn’t know what was happening and didn’t know how to react . We were just the nearest people, so I think customers found it easy to take it out on us.”

Many arguments with customers surrounded shop workers questioning them on why they hadn’t worn a mask.

She said: “Even if we asked them now, one year on, we would still get the abuse. We’ve had enough of it to be honest. We stayed open the whole way through the pandemic and we’ve had enough.”

Shop workers union USDAW, says incidents of abuse have doubled during the pandemic. Alex Bingha, of USDAW, said: “We’ve had examples of people purposefully coughing in our members’ faces, we’ve had bags of shopping thrown at our members, we’ve had our members have to break up fights where people have been arguing, bizarrely, over whether Covid exists”.

Staff at News N Booze in St John's, Worcester have had a similar experience. The owner, who has asked not to be named, said: “People complain about wearing masks. But you can’t challenge them because it’s awkward. Being a female shop owner, you get trouble with customers as it is. But there are some who can make you feel extra uncomfortable with unwanted attention.”

They said: “We’ve had customers snatch things, complaining about prices, but ultimately it’s our choice what we charge and it’s our store. We can’t compete with supermarkets who bulk buy and I think our prices are fair.”