A MAJOR northern supermarket chain has announced it will axe all of its self-service checkouts across the UK, except in two of its Lake District stores.

Booths has made the decision to keep only its Keswick and Windermere self-service checkouts open and return to fully staffed checkouts in their other 26 stores.  

It comes after the firm, which has 16 shops in Lancashire as well as other outlets in Yorkshire and Cheshire, said it was responding to customer feedback.

“We believe colleagues serving customers delivers a better customer experience and therefore we have taken the decision to remove self-checkouts in the majority of our stores,” a spokesperson said.

“We have based this not only on what we feel is the right thing to do but also having received feedback from our customer.

“We will retain self-checkouts in two of our stores in the Lake District in order to meet the needs of our customers during very busy periods.”  

The company, described by some as the ‘northern Waitrose’, has five other Cumbrian stores in Kendal, Kirkby Lonsdale, Milnthorpe, Penrith and Ulverston.

They say their philosophy is to “sell the best goods available, in attractive stores, staffed with first class assistance.

“Delighted customers with our warm northern welcome is part of our DNA and we continue to invest in our people to ensure we remain true to that ethos,” the firm added.