Mystery man dressed as a T-rex at Tesco store in Portsmouth leaves shoppers in stitches

UNPRECEDENTED demand faced by supermarkets means there are now some items shoppers expect to forgo when they do the grocery run.
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But in spite of the coronavirus outbreak one thing customers would never expect to find nestled among the aisles is a Tyrannosaurus rex.

That was until Tuesday afternoon, when a mystery man dressed as the colossal carnivore turned up at Tesco in North Harbour, Portsmouth.

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Shoppers were left with beaming smiles as the dress-up dinosaur meandered through the store with a trolley, all the while complying with the retail giant's new social distancing guidelines.

A mystery man dressed as a Tyrannosaurus rex does his shopping at Tesco, North Harbour, on Tuesday, March 31. Picture: Kirsty SuthersA mystery man dressed as a Tyrannosaurus rex does his shopping at Tesco, North Harbour, on Tuesday, March 31. Picture: Kirsty Suthers
A mystery man dressed as a Tyrannosaurus rex does his shopping at Tesco, North Harbour, on Tuesday, March 31. Picture: Kirsty Suthers

Lissie Broom caught the joker’s arrival on video after her six-year-old daughter, Lily, burst into a fit of the giggles when she spotted him walking through the car park.

‘My daughter started shouting “mummy, there’s a dinosaur" as the man was walking into the shop,’ said Lissie, a 35-year-old foster carer.

‘He made so many people laugh and smile and I’m certain that was his intention – you don’t expect to see a T-rex when you go to Tesco.

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‘A friend of mine saw him inside afterwards and she overheard him telling someone he was going to come back another time dressed as Pikachu.’

A mystery man dressed as a Tyrannosaurus rex does his shopping at Tesco, North Harbour, on Tuesday, March 31. Picture: Kirsty SuthersA mystery man dressed as a Tyrannosaurus rex does his shopping at Tesco, North Harbour, on Tuesday, March 31. Picture: Kirsty Suthers
A mystery man dressed as a Tyrannosaurus rex does his shopping at Tesco, North Harbour, on Tuesday, March 31. Picture: Kirsty Suthers
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Another customer, Kirsty Suthers, dashed to snap the reptile as it perused unusual surroundings – the free-from and frozen fish and poultry sections.

Sharing them on Facebook she said: ‘He has got the right idea!’

Despite trawling through her video’s hundreds of social media reactions, Lissie has been unable to unearth the funnyman’s identity.

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‘I’ve got no idea who it is and I’ve checked every single comment and person who shared the video,' she said.

‘I’m sure he has probably seen the video by now but, if he hasn’t, I think this man should know how many people he has made smile.

‘Everyone was laughing and that’s exactly what we need at a time like this.’

Can you identify the North Harbour Tesco T-rex? Email [email protected]

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