Morrisons supermarket in Malton has defended its move to increase the number of self checkouts.

Last week the store saw a decrease in staffed checkouts to double the amount of self checkouts.

The move has been criticised by many customers, particularly older people, who prefer the service offered by staffed checkouts and the ability to 'have a chat'.

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: "We are committed to providing choice for our customers on how they want to checkout and pay for their shopping. Over recent years more and more customers have chosen to use self checkout options, therefore we are ensuring we update our stores with a mix of payment points. Self scan means we are able to have more pay points open more of the time, improving service speed, but we will always have colleagues around to support our customers and to operate serviced tills for those who wish to be served this way."