Fights broke out and NHS workers walked away fearing for their health as over 1,000 Tesco shoppers queued at a time reserved for hospital workers, say witnesses.
Shocking video and photos show hundreds of people standing close to each other as they ignored pleas to social distance during the coronavirus pandemic.
The shop in Dudley, West Midlands, opened at 9am for NHS staff only, but many healthcare workers, hoping to get supplies after long shifts on the front line of the Covid-19 fight, left before the doors opened because the huge crowd posed a risk to their health.
One NHS worker called it a "disgrace".
Witnesses said shoppers were "fighting" and "panicked", and there was a "deep crush" at the door.
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Shoppers flocked to supermarkets once again to stock up on food and other supplies, a day after the Government assured Britons there was plenty of for for everyone and begged people to stop hoarding.
At the Tesco in Dudley, witness said shoppers were ignoring social distancing guidelines, abusing security and showing appalling behaviour.
Photos posted on social media show a massive queue of cars - stretching along a local road - waiting to get into the jammed car park.
One Twitter user wrote: "@BorisJohnson so today my wife and I as she is an NHS nurse arrived at Tesco Dudley 08.30 as they are supporting NHS staff to be greeted by 1000 queing joe public, ALL NHS staff walked away as the risk is to great, you need to help NHS staff better sir."
And a worker added: "Dudley - what a disgrace. Turned up for the NHS early hours shopping to find a scrum at the door.
"I spoke to another lady with an NHS lanyard who said people are fighting, the shelves are empty and you can’t get in anyway.
"How is the NHS early hours being policed?!"
A woman in the queue added: "People are absolutely vile here at Dudley Tesco this morning. Pull yourselves together."
The shopper added: "There must be around 1,000 people here for emergency services opening.
"No social distancing, security getting abused and people in it for themselves. For god sake."
Another person wrote: "It was a total shambles at the burnt tree Dudley branch. All you needed to do was identify what door u were opening."
And one man wrote: "Very poor organisation of the NHS hour at Dudley, nice queue formed, singlr door opened, queue fell apart, 10-12 deep crush at the door. I know staff are stretched to their limits but people are panicked and worried."
Tips on staying healthy amid coronavirus outbreak
Shoppers who were in the queue and "crush" urged Tesco to prevent it from happening again.
One man wrote: "Hi Tesco, thank you for allowing NHS staff to enter your store early this Sunday. It’s a lovely idea and I know it’s appreciated.
"However could I suggest a few things (to your Dudley store at least)? First of all perhaps let people who are queuing up a hour or more
"Ahead of time which door they should be queuing up to. The frustration of folk who were at the front to find themselves towards the back is understandable!
"Second, in anticipation of huge queues would it hurt to have temporary barriers to guide the queue? Again horrendously
"Annoying to have a queue collapse into a mob as soon as the doors open!
Related video: Shoppers queue at Tesco in London
"And finally perhaps have staff outside as well as inside to guide, answer questions, check ids in advance to stop people queuing a long time for no reason. It would all be a lot smoother! Thanks."
It came a day after hundreds of shoppers queued around a Tesco car park at 6am in a bid to purchase lockdown supplies.
The queue stretched the entire length of the car park in New Malden, south-west London.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
The most common symptoms of the coronavirus are:
- a dry, persistent cough
- a fever
If you experience these symptoms, you should immediately self-isolate yourself for seven days.
It is not necessary to call NHS 111 unless your symptoms get more severe.
Some patients have reported fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath and aches and pains. Sneezing is not a symptom of the coronavirus.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “The priority hour is a way to support NHS workers get access to the things they need and to say thank you for all they are doing.
"The overall the feedback has been positive, but we know some stores were still very busy during this time.
"We’re going to continue to offer priority shopping times to NHS workers, and we ask all other customers to help us give NHS workers priority by shopping during the usual Sunday opening hours."
Tesco staff have been giving free flowers to NHS staff to say thank you for their hard work during the crisis.
The supermarket has reserved one hour of shopping for NHS workers every Sunday morning before its shops open to the public.
Staff must show one piece of NHS identification to security.
On Saturday, Environment Secretary George Eustice said there was "no shortage" of food and he urged Britons to stop panic buying and hoarding supplies so that there is enough for everyone.
He added: “There’s more than enough food to go around.”
British Retail Consortium boss Helen Dickinson said panic buyers had hoarded more than £1billion of groceries over the past three weeks, buying 50 per cent more food than they need.
NHS medical director Prof Stephen Powis said hospital staff broke down in tears in shops where they found shelves cleared after long, gruelling shifts.
He said: “We should all be ashamed. These are the very people we will all need to look after perhaps us or our loved ones in the weeks ahead.”