The supermarket giant misinterpreted controversial guidance from the Welsh government – which has banned “non-essential goods” during a two-and-a-half-week lockdown

Tesco has apologised after wrongly claiming it could not sell sanitary products in Wales because of a ban on “non-essential” goods.

The supermarket giant told a Twitter user who was refused sanitary pads that “we have been told by the Welsh Government not to sell these items”.

But it rowed back minutes later after the Welsh Government made clear sanitary pads and tampons are allowed – along with anything else normally sold in a pharmacy.

Tesco apologised, agreed tampons could be sold after all, and claimed the Twitter user who was unable to buy pads suffered “an isolated incident in one store, where an area was cordoned off that should not have been”.

It comes as Wales’ Labour government faces mounting anger over the “non-essential goods” policy during a two-and-a-half-week ‘fire-break’ lockdown.

Non-essential shops in Wales have been closed like in the first UK-wide lockdown in March.