FRUSTRATED residents are thinking about selling their homes amid nuisance from queues outside popular clothing store Primark.

The number of people allowed in the Western Road, Brighton, store has been limited due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, large queues of shoppers are directed up Crown Street while they wait their turn to enter the fashion retailer.

The Argus:

But residents in the street say they are at their wits’ end, claiming the shoppers are not socially distancing, blocking entrances to properties, dropping cigarette butts and setting off car alarms.

“Some of us have wanted to sell our houses, but we have no chance with Primark allowing queues like this,” resident Richy Charles said.

“We are stuck.”

When the store opened on June 15, the massive “festival-like” queue formed as the eager shoppers descended on the city centre.

The Argus:

Queues on opening day – pictured above – stretched around the block

Primark, unlike many other clothing retailers, does not run an online service.

Mr Charles has had to sweep the road every day, he says, to pick up Primark clothes tags, masks and discarded cigarette butts.

Speaking on Saturday, he said: “The queue was redirected to our road about a month ago and every week it gets longer and longer.

“Today the queues have blocked some doorways.

“Car alarms go off as people disrupt cars.

“Some customers smoke and very few socially distance properly.

The Argus:

“We know our road would be a little busy as it is the centre of town, but we didn’t expect our residential street to be part of the city’s shopping streets.”

Other residents have also taken to the streets with litter pickers and complained to Primark in a bid to get it to take action.

“It feels pointless complaining as we are just ignored,” Mr Charles said.

“Lights are sometimes left on which means we can’t sleep.

“This really is too much.”

One angry man held a protest outside the store in June, berating queuing customers as they entered the building.

Microphone in hand, he said: “You want to risk everybody’s life by going to Primark?

“What did you get? Underwear?

“You’ve all got clothes… what do you need to go into there for and risk people’s lives?”

The Argus:

A spokeswoman for Primark said it is working with Brighton and Hove City Council to find a solution to the issue.

She said: “Nothing matters more to us than the safety and well-being of our customers and employees, and we have extensive safety measures in place in our stores as a result of Covid-19, which includes limiting the numbers of customers into the store at any one time to help ensure the safety of customers and employees.

We are aware of the issue regarding queues outside our Brighton store and the impact of this on local residents.

“We are following guidance provided to us by Brighton and Hove City Council in relation to the location of our queuing system.

“However we are in contact with the council in relation to this issue, and working to find a solution to reduce the impact on local residents.”