A Morrisons spokesperson said: “We take this matter very seriously.

“As soon as we become aware of any abandoned carts, we work together with Trolleywise (a company that collects lost carts) to ensure they are returned to our stores.”

Sainsbury’s expressed similar sentiments, with a spokesperson adding: “We have measures in place to prevent trolleys from leaving our property, including a coin/token operated locking system at our Canterbury store.

“We also work with a specialist contractor to collect the trolleys and ask anyone who sees an abandoned one to report it on the TrolleyWise website or in store so we can recover it as soon as possible.”

Asda and Aldi did not respond to requests for comment.