A drawing making people aware that mask wearing is mandatory is hanging up in the door of The Salon in Beach RoadA drawing making people aware that mask wearing is mandatory is hanging up in the door of The Salon in Beach Road
A drawing making people aware that mask wearing is mandatory is hanging up in the door of The Salon in Beach Road

Face masks: Littlehampton shoppers and shop owners react to their return today

Shop owners and shoppers in Littlehampton have given their opinions on face masks becoming mandatory again in shops and on public transport in England.

The mandatory face mask rule came back into affect at 4am today (November 30) after cases of the new strain of Covid-19, Omicron, were confirmed in the UK.

Littlehampton shop owners along Beach Road mostly agreed with the rule coming back into action.

Richard Brown, 53, owner of Love Pets in Littlehampton, said: “It’s sad that we have got here but if it’s necessary, it’s necessary.

“We have to do whatever it takes to keep our customers and our community safe.

“So far, 100 per cent of people who have entered our shop have complied with the mask rule, I think most people are aware that the rule is not there for fun, it’s there for a reason.

“Please, everybody, make sure you wear your mask and let’s get back to this normal life as soon as we can.”

Jay Eves, 40, owner of The Salon in Beach Road, said: “I think it’s a good rule and to be honest, we haven’t actually stopped wearing masks throughout the whole thing, so I am quite pleased to just continue.”

Anita Lawrence, assistance manager at Felix, agreed with fellow shop owners and said: “Everything that helps to stop the spread is good.”

David Winter, 69, director of PartyThings2Go in Littlehampton, said: “I think the mask rule coming back is okay, and it’s what we have to do.

“However, as someone who works in the shop, wearing a mask all day just isn’t feasible but I agree that wearing a mask for a few minutes whilst a customer comes in is fair enough and is what we have to do to protect ourselves.”

Celia Thomson-Hitchcock, chair of the Littlehampton Traders Board, asked businesses in Littlehampton about the rule.

She said: “99 per cent of businesses feel that mask wearing in supermarkets, public enclosed non-open areas such as public houses, restaurants, airports and all public transport to be mandatory.

“All busy trading areas should never have been stopped from face mask wearing and should be a condition for trading.

“Some consideration should be an option for choice with general common sense, regarding personal choice of mask wearing, although this was a contentious issue with many believing it should be compulsory.

“It was very obvious that most businesses were concerned with the lack of hand sanitation being used by the public and believe this to be a vital requirement too.”

Shoppers around Littlehampton also agree with the face mask rule coming back into action.

Peter Lowe, 75, and Natalie Lowe, 74, who own a holiday home in Littlehampton said: “We’ve got no problem with the mask rule whatsoever, we just do as we are told.

“We think the mask rule is a good idea, it’s good that we are masks and in fact we don’t think we should have stopped wearing them.”

Deborah Robertson, 59, and Steven Robertson, 62, from Hertfordshire, are also in favour of mask wearing at the moment.

They said: “We have no problem with wearing masks, if you have to wear it to keep everyone safe and okay then its not a problem, we’ll do whatever we have to.”

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