Sainsbury’s is to introduce a new trolley for disabled children in all of its stores following a successful trial.

The Grocer reported earlier this year that the retailer was trialling a trolley featuring a five-point harness at its Upper Norwood supermarket and had extended the pilot to its Crawley store.

Sainsbury’s has now confirmed the trolley, which is fitted with a padded seat and harness, will be introduced to nearly 600 of its stores from today (15 September).

All of Sainsbury’s supermarkets will have at least one of the new trolleys by the end of October, it said.

Maria Box, who trialled the prototype trolley with her five-year-old son Ryan, said:All parents with disabled children know how stressful it can be to take them shopping.

It had got to the point where I couldn’t go shopping with Ryan because he had outgrown the seat. In this new trolley he is properly supported, safe and happy. It will revolutionise our shopping trips.”

Sainsbury’s director of customer experience Hannah Bernard added: “We always had trolleys for parents with disabled children but they weren’t appropriate for children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy or autism.

We hope these new trolleys will make shopping much easier for thousands of parents.”