Morrisons is introducing a ‘quiet hour’ for customers who need a calmer shopping experience.

With the support of the National Autistic Society the Mariners Way store on the Docks is setting out to help people with autism or who have autistic children have a quieter time in stores.

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The Quieter Hour sees lights dimmed, music and radio turned off, a lack of tannoy announcements, checkout bleeps and other electrical kit turned down and posters put up to say Saturdays from 9am-10am will be quiet hour.

Claire Senko at Morrisons Preston said: “Our initial trials showed there is a need for a quieter shopping experience. We hope that these changes make a real difference for some of our customers at our store.”

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Daniel Cadey from the National Autistic Society said: “Around 700,000 people are on the autism spectrum in the UK. This means they see, hear and feel the world differently to other people, often in a more intense way. Morrisons ‘Quieter Hour’ is a step in the right direction for autistic people who find supermarket shopping a real struggle.”

The quieter hours will begin from Saturday (21 July) and will also be introduced at the Blackpool Road Morrisons store.