Jamie Cole visited Tesco in Pontypool, Wales, on Friday morning and was shocked to see the shop had stopped the sale of these items – appearing to class them as “non-essential”.

He said others looked on and seemed to also be concerned.

Tesco later claimed it was a “trial” and that non-essential items are still available to purchase until 6pm tonight.

According to the Welsh Government website, “non-essential retail” will be closed, but there is no clear list of items specified.

The 31-year-old claims an aisle containing kettles and phone chargers was “completely closed off” despite them being “needed” as temperatures nationwide begin to drop.