Legal restrictions needed to prevent stockpiling - Crawley council leader

The leader of Crawley Borough Council has asked the town’s MP, Henry Smith, to call on the government for legal restrictions to help prevent stockpiling – and military help to make it stick.
Completely cleared out supermarket shelves. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) SUS-200320-114710001Completely cleared out supermarket shelves. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) SUS-200320-114710001
Completely cleared out supermarket shelves. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) SUS-200320-114710001

The council has launched a support network aimed at helping the people most vulnerable to coronavirus receive food, medicine and sanitary goods.

In the ‘biggest response to a civil emergency in the history of the New Town’, leader Peter Lamb has asked organisations and volunteers to step up and offer their services.

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He said: “I have written to our local MP to ask that he lobby government to introduce legal restrictions to prevent stockpiling in order to back up their efforts and to provide the military presence required to ensure that those restrictions are followed.

“In the meantime, we are looking to use the council’s own Civil Enforcement Officers to help maintain order.”

Mr Smith said security would be made available where needed, either through police or military personnel, to help retailers to enforce limits on key items.

He added: “I would appeal to people during this understandably anxious Covid-19 period to think of others less able to shop, such as key workers, plus isolated ill and elderly.

“In turn, those minority of retailers that have hiked prices to take advantage of this crisis will be reported and acted upon.”