Riot Squad Called To Disperse Crowds Trying To Get Free Krispy Kreme Doughnuts In Sydney

People were very excited whenKrispy Kreme announced it was giving away free boxes of Original Glazed doughnuts to people who had experienced a birthday during lockdown.

The offer was extended to anyone whose big day landed between 13 March and 13 July.

Considering there were more than four million Australians who tick that box, there were absolute scenes at Krispy Kreme stores around the country.

However, it seems like people were so keen on getting their mitts on free doughnuts that they forgot there was a pandemic going on.

Police were called to several stores in New South Wales to help with traffic and crowd control as many people and cars queued around the block to wait their turn.

News Corp

While some people socially distanced from others, many did not, which caused the Public Order and Riot Squad to be called in to help ensure public health protocols were adhered to.

NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke slammed Krispy Kreme for launching a promotion that would cause such scenes.

"This is nonsensical and defies logic," Acting Assistant Commissioner Cooke said. "We have people in NSW who have lost jobs, people who have missed the opportunity to farewell their loved ones at funerals, and of course, people who have lost their lives due to Covid-19.

"Promotions like this do nothing to assist in maintaining social distancing which is vital to stopping the spread of the virus.

"Police are examining which, if any, breaches may have occurred and will take appropriate action where required."

Facebook

Krispy Kreme has released a statement, saying the company never intended for people to break the rules and it had health and safety as a priority.

"Krispy Kreme adheres to the current state government requirements for hygiene and social distancing to protect our employees and to allow us to continue to serve our guests in a safe and clean environment," a statement read.

"We encourage people visiting our stores to please adhere to signage and instructions from staff."

Krispy Kreme was giving away 350,000 free doughnuts yesterday to mark its own birthday and ran out of stock at around 3.30pm AEST.

Topics: Food, News, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie