The supermarket where the entrance is in Tier 2 but the checkouts are in Tier 4

For shoppers in the Hampshire Lidl, moving from the milk to the bread aisle could mean crossing between two tiers

Lidl Portchester with the border sign halfway down the store
Author: Sophie ParsonsPublished 22nd Dec 2020
Last updated 22nd Dec 2020

Shoppers at a Hampshire supermarket have found themselves crossing coronavirus tiers while crossing aisles!

The Lidl in question has found itself divided between two tiers after new restrictions were introduced on Saturday.

Located in Portchester, the shop straddles Fareham in Tier 2 and Tier 4 Portsmouth as the sign marking the border is located halfway down the side of the store!

Different tiers for different parts of the supermarket

With the border running through middle of Lidl, it means the store's entrance is in tier 2, but the checkouts are tier 4!

The bizarre situation means shoppers can enter the shop from tier 2 to pick up their turkey and sprouts, before crossing the border to pay in tier 4.

The Government advice warns against travel to and from different tiers but does not offer guidance on what to do if your local supermarket is split between two zones.

However, tier 4 shoppers will not be prevented from visiting the supermarket after local police confirmed on Monday that they would not stop people from moving between tiers.

Council leader for Gosport Borough, Mark Hook, said he "can't understand" why the area has been moved into tier four while neighbouring areas like Fareham remain in tier two.

Lockdown 2020 - The memories

Clap for Carers

Taking place every Thursday night at 8pm, households across the UK and Ireland stepped outside their front doors to thank all key workers throughout the pandemic, clapping along for one minute with neighbours!


The final Clap for Carers took place on the 28th May with the campaign's creator Annemarie Plas thanking everybody for taking part in their masses.

The Daily Coronavirus Briefing

It became the highlight of the day, switching on our TVs at 5pm to see the daily Coronavirus briefing live from Downing Street!


Whether it was Boris himself, Chris Witty, Matt Hancock or Rishi Sunak, million tuned in everyday throughout lockdown to get an update on the figures and rules.

Captain Sir Tom Moore

He was the army veteran who stole the hearts of the nation in lockdown, raising over £30 million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden ahead of his 100th birthday!


Captain Tom has now received a knighthood from the Queen, and there's going to be a movie made about his amazing life!

PE with Joe Wicks

Ahh... The lovely Joe Wicks! The Body Coach become the nation's PE teacher with his daily workouts on his YouTube page, with people of all ages getting involved throughout lockdown to keep fit!


Joe decided to donate all profits made to the NHS, with the fitness fanatic going on to raise a massive £580,000 following 78 workouts and 80 million views.

Rainbow pictures in windows

They brightened up our windows, doors, walls and let's face it, our days during lockdown!


The colourful designs first started to pop up when Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools, with children being urged to create the pictures to 'spread hope'.

Furlough

A word most of us had never heard of before 2020... But 'furlough' was one of the most-used terms throughout lockdown, after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the scheme would pay for 80% of wages for people who were unable to work during lockdown.

Working from home

For those of us who weren't furloughed, working from home became the norm for a LOT of people!


Rolling out of bed five minutes before your shift, wearing your PJ bottoms in Zoom calls, and watching Netflix whilst 'working' isn't too bad after all is it?

Toilet roll shortage

Absolutely nobody saw this one coming! A world pandemic and people start hoarding... TOILET ROLL!


Yep, we still can't get our heads around this one!

Tiger King

It was the crazy Netfix series that had the world hooked during lockdown... Even if it feels like years ago since we watched the rivalry between Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin!

Homeschooling

After Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools, many parents were left having to homeschool their children, making us all realise just how hard Key Stage 2 maths really is!

Daily walks

It was the one time of the day we were allowed out of the house, so millions of people in the UK made the most of their daily walks!

Baking

If you were lucky enough to find flour on the supermarket shelves, you probably baked some form of banana bread, cookie or brownie during lockdown!


We are basically all Mary Berry now yeah?

Cutting each other's hair

Admit it, you had a go either cutting your own hair or somebody else's hair during lockdown, and it wasn't always 'salon standard'.

Panic buying

Not only was toilet roll sold out practically everywhere, people started to panic buy items such as pasta, rice, flour and eggs, leaving supermarket shelves empty!

Chanel the Parrot

For about three days, everyone in the UK was obsessed with the parrot Chanel, after her owner Sandra Hannah posted a video on Facebook asking for people in her local area in Liverpool to keep an eye out as Chanel had flown away. Thankfully, she was found soon after, and the pair even appeared on This Morning together for an interview with Holly and Phillip!

Zoom quizzes

"Who is making the quiz this week?"


Quizzes become the main source of entertainment through lockdown, with many people making and participating a variety of different daily quizzes.


There's one thing for sure, our IQ has improved!

Normal People

If you didn't fall in love with Normal People's Connell and Marianne during lockdown, were you even in lockdown?

DIY

Our homes were given about 50 makeovers and have never been cleaner!

BBQs

Albeit it was with members of your households, but due to the lovely weather we received in lockdown, BBQs were a very popular choice for dinner!

Bingo

Whether it was over Zoom, in the street, or just a game with your household, classic game Bingo helped us kill some hours during lockdown.

FaceTime with friends and family

As Boris announced we couldn't socialise with anybody outside of our households, Zoom calls and FaceTimes with family and friends were the only way to keep in contact with loved ones!


Whether it was 10 minute catch-up or a three hour de-brief, where would we be without them?

Wardrobe sort-outs

We finally had time to clear out our wardrobes and find items of clothing we actually forgot about!

Spending valuable time with family

Although lockdown had a lot of negatives, the shining light of the pandemic meant we could spend valuable time with our families, something our usual hectic lifestyles don't often allow.

Hear the latest news on Downtown on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.