BOSSES at Poundland have apologised after a shopper publicly complained about the state one of its stores.

Lucy Hughes visited Poundland in Colchester at about 10.45am on Monday and said she struggled to even get in the door.

Mrs Hughes also said the shopping aisles in the Sheepen Road store were full of boxes.

She said: “I would never have got round there with a buggy or if I was in a wheelchair, not to mention half the shelves were covered up.

“I had to squeeze past a crate as soon as I got through the door as someone was restocking the drinks fridge.

“Then I saw the crates covering up the end of the first aisle.

“I couldn’t believe it when I got to the back wall and every last bit of space was taken up with laden crates.”

Mrs Hughes, who lives in Chelmsford and was working in Colchester, was passing the shop and decided to pop in for a drink and a browse.

When she approached a member of staff about the state of the shop, she was told it was a regular occurrence.

She said: “I actually bought a couple of bits and asked the lady on the till why there were so many crates everywhere.

“She said: ‘Oh, it’s always like this, people always ask me about the crates.’ “She said they had no lifts to take them anywhere.

“She just shrugged off my comment, she didn’t offer to tell anyone or do anything about it.”

Mrs Hughes posted on Poundland’s Facebook page, and the pound shop responded saying: “Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.

“I have forwarded your feedback to the area manager for immediate attention.”

A Poundland spokesman told the Gazette: “You don’t have to work in retail to know this isn’t Colchester’s finest hour. “Rest assured we’re taking steps to ensure in future this doesn’t happen again. “We appreciate Lucy getting in touch to tell us.”