Mirfield: Face mask cameras installed at garden centre

Customers are alerted to the need for face coverings by the software at the garden centre

A garden centre has employed mask recognition technology to help stop customers entering without coverings.

Whiteley's Garden Centre at Mirfield, West Yorkshire, has installed cameras linked to software at the entrance point to spot anyone without a mask.

Face coverings must be worn by customers in shops, supermarkets and shopping centres around the UK.

The software scans faces and where it finds visible points such as a nose or mouth it flashes a message on screen.

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Managers at the centre said they had seen a "90% drop in customers refusing to wear a face covering" which meant they no longer had to have a member of staff manning the door.

General Manager, Peter Williams said: "Customers' and employees' safety should be a top priority for all retailers in the current environment.

"I was very excited to see how our visitors reacted to this new system and I must admit I was overwhelmed with the volume of positive feedback we've received from customers and employees respectively.

"Our customers are feeling safer coming into the centre knowing that we are doing our best to support national efforts to suppress the virus and our employees are very appreciative of the technology removing the confrontational element, asking customers to put on their mask."

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