SOME shoppers in York are abandoning their masks following the 'Freedom Day' relaxation of legal requirements for customers to cover their faces, according to a snapshot survey by The Press.

We observed 50 shoppers emerging from the Tesco convenience store in Piccadilly last Thursday, when facial coverings were required unless people were exempt, and found 47 of them wore masks or some other form of facial covering.

Only three emerged with nothing to cover their face.

Today, we observed another 50 shoppers emerging from the same store and found 39 had their faces covered, but 11 did not.

One shopper without a mask said they had stopped wearing one in every shop because of the law change, but stressed that they still had their mask and would still wear it 'if it was busy.' Another said they had been exempted for months.

Other shoppers, such as Claire and Liz, said they were happy to carry on wearing masks, at least for the time being, despite the law change - as they felt it was safer to do so.

A SNAPSHOT survey of shoppers at a York convenience store by The Press appears to have revealed