'Let's buy all their milk!': Costco shoppers in Washington State demand a ban on cross-border raids by Canadian shoppers taking advantage of weak U.S. dollar

Facebook protests page calls for Canadians to be banned at certain times

Video shows them tearing cartons of milk from a crate seconds after being delivered



Thirty-

mile trip across the border allows them to cut costs on buying gas and milk



Disgruntled shoppers have called for a Costco store to have opening times only for U.S. customers - after being bombarded by Canadians buying cheap milk.

Residents in Bellingham, Washington, say they are annoyed with large numbers of visitors driving across the border to stock up on gas and food.

The nearest towns north of Bellingham are Abbotsford and Surrey in British Columbia - just 30 miles away over the border.

Canadian residents can take advantage of their strong dollar against the weak U.S. currency and buy food and fuel for less than they would at home.



Scroll down for video



Busy: A picture posted on Facebook protest page calling for U.S. only opening hours at Costco a Costco in Bellingham, WA, shows a long queue with many Canadians

Tensions: Local customers have complained that the Canadians are 'rude' when they bombard the shop to buy cheap milk and gas

Residents angry at the 'rude Canadians' have now started a Facebook page calling for them to be banned during certain times.

The site, named 'Bellingham Costco needs a special time just for Americans', shows pictures of cars with BC plates taking up two parking spaces.

It also has images of a packed shop floor with large numbers of people queuing. While a video shows the frantic scrabble to buy milk after a crate of it is unloaded into the shop.

So far it is attracted 2,158 likes as dozens of residents back the campaign.



A large group of Canadians scramble to buy cases of milk from the Costco store. A video of the scenes - which have angered residents - have been uploaded onto the Facebook protest page

Almost gone: Within seconds the milk has disappeared as Canadian customers load their carts with the dairy product, which is cheaper in the U.S. than it is in Canada

The Canadian Dollar has seen five successive weeks of gains against its U.S. counterpart and currently buys around at 99.11 cents per U.S. dollar. One Canadian dollar buys $1.009.



This is up from year lows of 94 cents per Canadian dollar last September.

The creator of the Facebook page wrote: 'To our Canadian friends on here that think we hate you: You have to look at the root of the problem.

'Bellingham has laws that keep big box companies from expanding. The overcrowding in this small, slow paced town has agitated people.'

Several spoof pictures have been published there poking fun at Canadians, who are portrayed as people taking all the milk.

Protest: The Facebook page calling for Canadians to be banned at certain times from a Costco store

This map shows the short distance between Bellingham in Washington and the nearest town of Abbotsford in British Columbia in Canada

Sterling Edkins wrote: 'Almost every time I go to a store I come very close to getting run over by an impatient Canadian.

'They don't want to stop and let you cross instead they accelerate to try and get in front of you then slam on the breaks and stop in front of you to turn down the row.

'Pedestrians have the right of way in parking lots! Oh and by the way merging on the freeway YOU have to yield not the person already doing the speed limit.'

But Dyanna Zimmer retaliated by pointing out that there are lots of Americans who visit Canada for financial perks.

'Rude': A photograph on the Facebook protest page shows a car with British Columbia plates parked inconsiderately across two spaces

Spoof: A cartoon uploaded online shows a figure with a Canadian flag buying all the milk

Joke: A second picture posted on Facebook depicts Canadians as wanting to buy all the 'f****** milk from the Bellingham Costco'

She wrote: 'You don't see any rude comments coming from Canadians about all the Americans coming to White Rock for affordable prescriptions and medical care.'

Officials at the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce also defended Canadians.

Ken Oplinger told CBC News that they bring in tax revenues and 'without them the living situation in the city would be quite different'.

He added: 'In the last two years, our sales tax generation has doubled or tripled the pace in the rest of the state, and its almost entirely because of the Canadians coming south.'

A Costco spokesman said the store wanted to expand to take into account the extra customers from Canada but could not do so at its current site because there is not enough room.

They also ruled out introducing opening times just for Americans. However, they have employed an off-duty police officer two days a week to control the crowds parking at the store during busy periods.