A stroke sufferer has applauded Tesco after the supermarket giant introduced a permanent Quiet Hour in its stores.

Tesco will dim the lights and lower the noise at the checkouts in its larger stores from 9am to 10am every Wednesday and Saturday from now on.

The supermarket says this is to help people hidden disabilities, the vulnerable and the elderly navigate stores more easily.

And Carol Roberts, who suffered from a stroke in 2017, has applauded the supermarket giant for permanently bringing in the change.

She said: "I think Tesco are brilliant for bringing a quiet hour in, I think a lot of supermarkets should do it.

"I can imagine many people with similar brain injuries have experienced an extremely similar thing, and the same for those who have disabilities too.

"People often don't appreciate disabilities that they can't see and don't understand, they don't realise what you're battling with.

"I used to be a teacher, I ran a business, and was even a scout leader for twenty years so I was used to lots going on.

"And it really brings it home when something like this happens how quickly things can change for people."

Mrs Roberts, from Pershore, suffered from a brain stem stroke in 2017 which affected her involuntary systems.

After having seemingly recovered from the stroke, she was still experiencing issues while driving and going about daily tasks, much to the bafflement of the stroke team in Worcester.

However, after persisting for a diagnosis, it was determined that she had Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness, a common cause of chronic-dizziness which people often get after brain injuries. 

She said: "I was so relieved when I got diagnosed, because I thought I was going mad.

"The first time I tried driving on the motorway after my stroke I was in Plymouth with my husband.

"We were coming up to a roundabout and he said, 'are you going to stop for that bus?'

"I didn't see a double-decker bus - when my brain gets overloaded it just says, 'that's enough' and starts cutting things out."

Mrs Roberts says she often gets overwhelmed in supermarkets because of her condition, even collapsing in Asda on one occasion. 

And she says for people who suffer from brain injury or disabilities, a trip to the supermarket can be "sheer brain overload".

"You've got all the music, the noises, all the people whizzing past, looking up and down all the shelves - it's sheer brain overload.

"It's just too much information, and it can make shopping absolutely horrendous."

Claire Pickthall, Tesco Group Customer Proposition Director said: “We know that almost 20% of the population in the UK have a disability and we want to be able to help our customers as much as we can.

"So I am really proud that at Tesco, we are taking another step in being a more inclusive business by introducing Quiet Hour across all our stores.

"I know that for some people the shopping trip can be stressful and not just for people with a disability but for others looking for a calmer place to shop.

"We want everyone to know that Tesco is a welcome place for everyone to come and shop or work with us."