PARENTS of disabled children have criticised many supermarkets in a new survey.

Seven in 10 parents claim that doing their weekly shopping is a stressful ordeal and are calling for changes to make it easier.

Their main concerns are that aisles are not wide enough, trolleys are often inappropriate and difficult to control and there is a lack of childcare, disabled facilities and staff support.

The research, carried out by The Family Fund, a charity that provides grants for families with severely disabled or seriously ill children, also revealed a problem with the attitudes of other shoppers, who were said to add to the trauma by being unfriendly and abusing disabled facilities, such as parking.

Parents are calling for better access, wider aisles, disabled child-friendly trolleys, more childcare and toilet facilities, supervised creches and improved customer services.