Vulnerable elderly Edinburgh couple may be forced to leave house during coronavirus pandemic after Tesco home delivery never arrives

The retired couple have had their weekly groceries delivered by Tesco every Thursday for the last five years

An elderly man with diabetes and his wife may be forced to leave the safety of their Edinburgh home in search of food after their Tesco home delivery failed to arrive on Thursday morning.

Eric and Alison Drummond have spent the last three weeks isolated in their homes in Currie due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Eric, 79, has diabetes and Alison, 77, has Parkinson’s and due to their medical history and age, they are both extremely vulnerable during the health crisis and have been told to stay at home.

The Drummonds may be forced to leave their home

Eric said: “We know everyone is in the same boat and it’s for everyone’s safety.”

They were occupying themselves at home as best they could and keeping an eye on the news to see when it would be safe to venture outside again.

But when their Tesco home delivery failed to turn up on Thursday morning the couple began to worry about how to feed themselves over the coming weeks.

Mr Drummond said: “We have enough food to last us through the week but after that, we will not have anything to make meals with.”

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The retired couple have had their weekly groceries delivered by Tesco every Thursday for the last five years and have been shopping in the superstore for over 20 years.

The ex-city councillor said: “I was very concerned when the shop didn’t arrive. I phoned the store and they abruptly told me that it was not their problem, to try somewhere else, and then hung up on me. It was very upsetting.”

The couple said they are angry at the shop for their treatment of loyal customers and are worried about what to do now this vital service is no longer available.

Eric said: “I am 79 and would like to make it to 80 but Tesco is certainly not helping me get there. My wife and I both feel that Tesco has let us down badly. We don’t know what to do.”

The couple do not want their neighbours to shop for them as they worry that they are putting them at risk, and their children live in London.

But as the couple start running out of bread, flour and other staple ingredients they face an uncertain future without the assurance of regular food deliveries.