A dad says he was “disturbed” after he spotted adult sex toys on show at “child-eye level” in Tesco.
Mark was shopping for protein powder in Tesco Extra, Hull, on Friday (September 28) when he saw rampant rabbits and vibrators next to the vitamins.
The 51-year-old said he was “shocked” and concerned as they were placed on the fourth shelf from the ground, and could easily be seen by children.
READ MORE: Drunk Brit dad-of-four falls to death on first lads’ holiday in Benidorm
An image of the products shows a suction stimulator priced at £29.50 and a vibrator marked at £11.
A ten-function rabbit vibrator costs £20 or £25 with a Tesco Clubcard.
“I almost stuck them all in my trolley and took them to the staff at the front of the shop because I was so concerned,” Mark, from Hull, told Need To Know.
“I was shocked. They were by the vitamins and nicotine.
“I don’t expect to see that in my supermarket when I’m doing my food shop.
“It’s a random place to sell that stuff. You expect that in an adult shop like Ann Summers and you wouldn’t take your kids in there.
“I’m in shock that children are exposed to it.
“It’s concerning for a lot of parents.
“I want them to be removed from all stores.
“Where does it stop? Will they start selling kinkier stuff?
“Lube and condoms have been in shops for a long time. Are they testing the water to see how far they can go?
“It must be embarrassing to buy one. They’re in security cases so you’d have to hand it to a member of staff to take it off.
“I can’t imagine they’re selling many.
“It’s about what’s right and what’s wrong for children.
“Pictures speak a thousand words to children and these things can stick in their minds for a long time.
“I’m not against people having those things. There’s a time and place for that type of stuff.”
The dad-of-two claims he made a complaint online in which he said he would personally remove the items.
He wrote: “This is a complaint to Tesco about the disgusting products I have seen down the medical aisle.
“I noticed the self-pleasure items, which I am disgusted to see, are at eye level for children.
“If these are not removed from the store I will be personally removing them as indecent exposure to children.”
Although Tesco said it appreciated Mark’s concerns, it said products are carefully positioned.
They also described the toys as “sexual wellness products”.
The supermarket wrote: “I am sorry to hear about the experience you have had in one of our stores and I can appreciate your concerns about the fact that these products can be within view of children.
“The layout of our stores and positioning of the products we sell are carefully considered.
“Where our stores carry a range of sexual wellness products, these are generally part of our wellness and beauty aisles and are positioned on higher shelves.
“The packaging of our sexual wellness products does not feature any graphic or explicit imagery.”
It went on to say that it would request that the store move the toys onto a higher shelf and promised to investigate.
It said: “I understand where you are coming from, I will get this fed back to the store now to see if something can be done about getting them placed either on a higher shelf or behind the counter.
“We take complaints very seriously so l will ensure this is passed over to the store’s management team right away for you and I have expressed your frustrations within this complaint.
“Unfortunately, as the outcome of this would be dealt with internally, we would not hear back regarding this complaint, however, I can assure you that this will be investigated further.”
Mark added: “When Tesco responded, they were quite dismissive.
“They said it’s a sexual wellness product. To me, that’s not sexual wellness. Sexual wellness is something you do with your partner.
“I’m a widower and I’ve raised my two children so I’m very protective.
“I don’t like seeing things that could harm other children.”
Mark shared a photo of the toys on Facebook and other parents said they would boycott the store.
Mark added: “Parents are shocked and a lot have said they’ll never shop in Tesco again.
“I don’t want to go in that store anymore but it’s local to me.
“I’m guessing it isn’t an isolated incident.”
Stacey Bradley commented: “It’s illegal for kids to go into sex shops so they don’t see this sort of thing so why is it ok for Tesco to have them on the shelf openly like that?”
Lindsay Staniforth wrote: “Shouldn’t be even selling them. They should keep to adult shops only.”
Eleanor Marrett added: “No way, that’s so wrong.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “The customer’s concerns have been passed to the store around moving the products onto a higher shelf.”
READ MORE: Horror as huge missile plummets on Palestinian man standing in street
