Rob Braddick, 48, who owns Braddick’s Holiday Park in Westward Ho!, Devon, in the southwest of England, has filled the toy grabber machines in his amusement arcade with two of the country’s most sought-after sanitary products, toilet paper and sanitizers.
The recent spread of the coronavirus has sparked panic buying of toilet paper and cleaning products in countries across the world, but the UK businessman is determined to spread some happiness among the anxiety and confusion.
Previously, arcade customers could previously try their hand at grabbing “Peter Rabbit” or “Frozen 2” toys from the machines.
“They got evicted this morning,” Braddick said of the toys, replacing them with hand sanitizers sachets and toilet rolls.
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Visitors can now pay 65 cents for three goes on the toilet roll grabber, or $1.30 a go for Carex, which the arcade owner described as the “Rolls-Royce of hand sanitizers.”
Braddick said to CNN that the idea was born of a desire to cheer people up in trying times.
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“It’s a bit of light relief with everything that’s going on,” he said. “Hopefully it will raise a smile, which I think everybody needs.” Braddick added.
Travel plans have been severely affected around the world, and tens of millions of people remain in quarantine as part of global efforts to combat coronavirus.
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Many supermarkets around the globe have seen shortages of toilet paper and hand sanitizer as consumers stockpile the products out of anxiety.
Braddick added their family business, which has been operating since 1932, has received more than a dozen calls from potential customers who said they don’t want to travel overseas for their holidays and would rather stay at home in the UK.
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As for his own coronavirus prevention, Braddick told that the staff have been urged to wash their hands every half hour, which is particularly important for those handling money in the arcade.