People have been left annoyed by the lack of social distancing taking place in Festival Place and The Malls by their fellow shoppers.

For the first time since lockdown began on March 23, non-essential shops have been allowed to reopen.

As a result, hundreds of eager customers flocked to out of their homes this morning.

But, people have been quick to criticise other shoppers over a lack of social distancing.

Jenny, 40, from Oakridge said: “People are not social distancing inside Primark.

"They should make sure people are keeping the distance. 250 people in Primark and that’s too much.

"I’ll go and look around and see how bad it is. No one way system in Primark.

"People are free to roam the store but at the tills no one is following social distancing. I didn’t feel safe inside by the tills. People were getting impatient. I won’t go back in Primark now unless it improves.”

But it wasn't just Primark where worries were felt.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Chloe Pill

Chloe Pill, 24, Winklebury was out today having a look at bargains in Sports Direct and noticed a distinct lack of social distancing taking place all around Festival Place.

"I’m looking to buy children new clothes and shoes and have been queuing for twenty minutes," she said.

"Quarantine has been ok because I’ve liked spending time with the family and having the chance to spend time as a family.

"I’ve been shopping at sports direct for a few years. They haven’t dealt with social distancing very well. No social distancing happening in Asda and Morrison’s. In the queue everyone is so close to each other.”

Others like 85-year-old Pam were just happy to get out and about.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Pam, 85, from Church Square

“I’m with my sister and want to go to TK Max," she said.

"If there’s a queue I don’t wait. I’ve only just got here.

"Lockdown has been stressful because I don’t like staying in. I am not particularly excited about it opening and the sport shop opening is not great.

"I don’t know what they are so desperate to hit in the sports shop."

Festival Place centre director Neil Churchill said: “We would like to thank everyone who came along to Festival Place today to support the reopening of many of our non-essential shops, it was great to be able to welcome people back after such a long closure. We also want to thank people for following social distancing guidelines and waiting patiently to go into shops.

"We understand that breaking normal shopping habits and following a one-way system can be a bit confusing to start with. This is going to be an ever evolving process as more retailers open their doors, so please look out for more changes."