Parents have been warned not to let their children stand up in trolleys following a food hygiene complaint.

One woman was enraged after seeing youngsters as old as nine standing in them at the Sainsbury's supermarket in Simone Weil Avenue, Ashford.

The shopper, who wished to remain anonymous, sent an email to the supermarket chain's chief executive Mike Coupe, Richard Judge at the Health and Safety Executive, the Jeremy Vine Show, the Daily Mail, and Ashford Borough Council (ABC) leader Gerry Clarkson.

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In it she said: “Every other trolley is being pushed around by parents with children standing up or sitting in the groceries section.

"Think about this. These are kids who walk around outside in the same shoe they’re standing in, inside the trolley.

“Dog faeces, dirt, litter residue, all this is being carried into the trolley on their shoes.

"Even worse, we frequently see kids in the trolley picking their noses or shoving food in their mouths.

"Why are Sainsbury’s allowing this to happen?"

Ashford Borough Council has confirmed that an environmental health officer visited the supermarket on Monday last week to discuss the shopper’s concerns.

An ABC spokesman said: “The council and Sainsbury’s would like to remind parents and guardians to use trolleys responsibly at any supermarket and to take note of the trolley safety signs which clearly indicate children are securely fastened in the seat provided.

“While the risks to food safety are low it is theoretically possible that contamination from children’s shoes could spread onto the packaging and then onto kitchen or fridge surfaces.

“A more significant concern, however, is the risk of accident to a child as trolleys are not designed for children to stand up in the main basket.

"These issues are of course relevant to all supermarkets.”

Meanwhile Craig McEwan from the Sainsbury’s executive office replied to the email and said notices are put on trolley handles about the correct use of trolleys.

Mr McEwan said: “I fully appreciate your concerns about dirt from trolleys being transferred to customers’ shopping.

"I can assure you that we have a cleaning programme in place for all our stores and equipment, and this includes our trolleys.”