A bungling police chief who contradicted official government guidance by warning that officers could search shopping trollies for nonessential items has retracted his comments.



Nick Adderley, chief constable of Northamptonshire, warned the public not to buy nonessential items from supermarkets and claimed that if people continued to do so, officers would start to check baskets and trolleys.



"We will not at this stage be starting to marshal supermarkets and check the items in baskets and trolleys to see whether it is a legitimate and necessary item," he said, "but again, be under no illusion, if people do not heed the warnings and pleas that I'm making today, we will start to do that."

