Gardai have shut down a local supermarket after it was found to have sold non-essential stationary to a minor.
Dinny’s Superstore, which has been a Main Street institution for 40 years, will remain closed until the ending of Level 5 restrictions after selling a HB pencil to a ten year old girl.
“The store was in direct breach of the guidelines and a court order has been issued for immediate closure,” said a Garda spokesperson.
The girl is believed to have surreptitiously slipped the pencil into her parent’s shopping trolley as they attended to the weekend booze run.
“It’s easy to see how the pencil could have gone unnoticed amongst the cans and bottles, but it’s still no excuse,” said the Garda spokesperson. “People need to respect the guidelines.”
The pencil was later destroyed in a controlled explosion by Gardai.
Dinny’s have appealed the closure order, claiming that the store will be at risk of permanent closure, with the loss of 35 jobs.
“They should have thought about that before they started pushing pencils on minors,” stated the Garda spokesperson.
The girl and her parents were not available for comment, but are understood to have ordered a new box of pencils on Amazon.