Parents' warning as people in 'cartoon character' fancy dress prey on shopping centre clinic

A warning has been issued after people dressed as 'cartoon characters' have been preying on a Covid-19 vaccine clinic in one Greater Manchester shopping centre. The council and NHS have told parents to 'exercise caution' as the individuals are understood to be 'anti-vaccine' protesters targeting 'parents and children'.

Eyewitnesses have told the Manchester Evening News of 'easily 20 or so' of the 'anti-vaxxers' gathering around the One Stockport Hub coronavirus vaccine clinic at the Merseyway Shopping Centre on Saturday, April 30. "They had bullhorns and a lot of them [were] outside the front of the Merseyway Centre," said the witness. "The police were there on Saturday too.

"They had placards about [the vaccine] apparently killing more kids than Covid. They were also handing out and holding newspapers by some made-up rag with some anti-vax front page nonsense."

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The M.E.N. also understands that the protesters dressing up as cartoon characters and targeting families on Saturday is not an isolated event. "They had the same the week before but not as many people," the eyewitness continued.

A sign was put up in the window of the hub issuing a warning to parents, reading: "Stockport Council and NHS Stockport have not employed a cartoon character as part of our vaccination work. We therefore have not had the opportunity to carry out a background check on this individual. Parents should exercise caution."

Jennifer Connolly, Stockport’s Director of Public Health, said: “Following reports that an individual dressed as a cartoon character was giving incorrect and misleading information, we felt it necessary to warn parents that this