Man tasered in fight over toilet paper at Tamworth Big W
A man has been tasered and charged after police were forced to step in to deal with a fight over toilet paper in a Big W store in NSW. It comes as Sydney Water makes an urgent plea amid the loo roll “apocalypse”.
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A man has been charged with assault and resisting arrest after a fight over toilet paper in Big W Tamworth led to him being tasered and arrested.
Police confirmed that officers were called to the Bridge St department store at about 10am on Thursday after a man allegedly assaulted another customer and a staff member following an argument.
It is understood the fight was over the ongoing toilet paper shortage, with police confirming the 50-year-old man “became aggressive” over stock shortages before throwing tissue boxes at a female staff member and grabbing a female customer by the throat after she confronted him.
The man then left the store to buy items from a supermarket. Police said he resisted arrest when approached, trying to grab an officer’s firearm and attempting to put another officer in a headlock.
The man was tasered during the arrest before being taken to Tamworth Police Station, where he was later charged with two counts each of common assault, resist officer in execution of duty and assault officer in execution of duty.
He was refused bail and will appear in Tamworth Local Court on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sydney residents are being urged not to flush baby wipes, tissues or hand towels down the toilet as shoppers snap-up potty alternatives in the wake of the toilet paper shortage.
Sydney Water spokesman Jackson Vernon said residents should only flush the three Ps — pee, poo and (toilet) paper — because other materials could clog drains, and be costly to repair.
“Even though wet wipes might state that they are flushable on their packaging, the reality is that they don’t break down and cause blockages in Sydney Water’s wastewater pipes as a result,” he said.
“Wipes can cause system chokes and damage to private sewer pipes. One Sydney resident reported a $16,000 plumbing bill to repair her private sewer pipes caused by her flushing wet wipes.”
Other products like make-up wipes, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, nappies, female sanitary products, condoms, cigarette butts, cotton buds, dental floss, hair and unwanted medication should never be flushed down the toilet, but should be placed in the bin.
The warning comes as tissues become the latest casualty of the coronavirus hysteria sweeping NSW supermarkets, after shoppers stripped toilet paper aisles bare.
The panic buying phenomenon has gripped Australia in recent days amid fears the World Health Organisation will declare coronavirus a pandemic.
In the weeks before a pandemic lockdown, people are urged to store a two-week supply of water and food.
Household staples from cans and long-life foods to rice, pasta, toilet paper, sanitary items, handwash, baby products and even tomato sauce and cat food have been flying off shelves.
The hoarding trend has been put down to “herd behaviour” — the desire for people to not want to miss out on items due to fear.
Pallets of toilet paper were delivered to a Coles Express petrol station in Five Dock overnight and eager shoppers quickly snapped up the prized items.
One man loaded his van with as many rolls of toilet paper as he could fit, saying he hadn’t been caught up in the initial hysteria but he didn’t want to find himself short in the bathroom.
“Just in case they run out, I haven’t been able to buy any, everyone else is buying it,” he said.
Health authorities have also urged people to use a tissue to cover their mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, encouraging people to purchase them.
The trend comes as six more cases of COVID-19 were confirmed across Sydney on Wednesday night – bringing the number of infections in NSW to 22.
The mortality rate of the bug is 3.4 per cent, compared to the SARS epidemic’s 9.6 per cent mortality rate.