Customers using a new shop in Wisbech run by a local councillor will not be challenged if they are not wearing a face covering.

“We are not the police and we don’t intend to try to be,” wrote Cllr Steve Tierney on the Facebook page for his new enterprise Madhouse.

Cllr Tierney’s shop was opened at the beginning of the month by Wisbech mayor Cllr Aigars Balsevics.

It sells comics, cards and collectibles and on its Facebook pages say they “welcome all Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror and Comic fans to our shop and our page”.

The shop in Alexandra Road opens on Saturday afternoons and on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

“The Government has asked people to wear masks when they are in shops,” says Cllr Tierney.

“Sainsbury’s and Asda are among the retailers who have said they will not challenge customers failing to wear a face covering and that it falls on police to penalise people.

“Here in our little shop we feel the same way. We acknowledge and support the Government’s efforts to tackle the Covid-19 Virus, but we are not the police and we don’t intend to try to be.”

He adds: “Please maintain a respectful social distance when entering our shop. Thank you.”

Cllr Tierney is also a district councillor and portfolio holder for communications at Fenland Council.

Last week the council issued guidance to “wear a face covering to protect others in shops, supermarkets and on public transport.”

Government advice is for “shops, supermarkets and other premises where face coverings are required are encouraged to take reasonable steps to promote compliance with the law and could refuse entry to anyone who does not have a valid exemption.

“Face coverings are largely intended to protect others, not the wearer, against the spread of infection because they cover the nose and mouth, which are the main confirmed sources of transmission of virus that causes coronavirus infection (COVID-19)”.