Police taser man after fight over toilet paper breaks out in Big W
Police have tasered a man after an argument broke out over toilet paper at a Big W in a regional NSW town.
A man has been tasered after a fight over toilet paper broke out at a Big W in regional NSW.
Police arrested the man after the alleged assault in Tamworth just after 10am.
Officers were called to the store after being told a 50-year-old man began to argue with a staff member and another customer before he allegedly assaulted them.
He had to be tasered during the arrest at Tamworth Shoppingworld.
The man was taken to Tamworth police station where he is currently assisting police.
It’s understood the fight was over toilet paper as people continue to panic buy stocks amid coronavirus fears.
No charges have been laid.
The Northern Daily Leader reports shelves are empty of toilet paper across several stores in Tamworth.
Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have introduced toilet paper limits as the shortage across the country worsens.
It’s not just Australians. Shops in Japan, the US and New Zealand have also run low on the precious sanitary rolls. In Hong Kong, ambitious thieves held up a supermarket to steal a delivery.
The panic over toilet paper supplies shows no signs of slowing, despite assurances from toilet paper companies.
Kimberly-Clark, which manufactures Kleenex Toilet Tissue, has now increased its production to 24 hours a day at its South Australia factory.
Footage captured inside Woolworths Revesby, in Sydney’s south-west, shows customers scrambling to grab packs of toilet paper about 7am yesterday.
Bulk goods supplier Costco has also set restrictions with customers being told they can only buy a maximum of two 48-packs of toilet paper.
Nathalie Agirre stocks up at Coles New Farm in Brisbane. Picture: Richard Gosling/AAP
Queensland University of Technology retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer said the shortage was exacerbated by the bulky nature of the products and supermarkets’ inability to stockpile them in storerooms.
But he hinted that the best chance of finding toilet paper was to go early every day as stocks are replenished overnight.
“The challenge with toilet paper is it comes in big, bulky packets and supermarkets can really only hold 150 to 200 packets in an aisle – those packets fill up an aisle pretty quickly,” he explained.
“Supermarkets are also conditioned to hold small levels of inventory, which is replenished every night.”
People are also stocking up on tissues, baby wipes and paper towels.
“I bought a box of baby wipes for my grandson just in case they sell out and the kids can’t get any. Panic buying causing panic buying … the irony,” one woman wrote on Twitter.
Another person wrote they would soon be making the switch to baby wipes because the local stores have run out of toilet paper.
But people are being reminded not to substitute toilet paper for baby wipes because they’re not flushable.