Concerned shoppers compare prices at Tesco stores in Leamington and Warwick - and here is what they found

Concerned shoppers in Leamington have compared the prices of products at the town centre branch of Tesco to highlight how the 'rebranding' of the store means its customers are having to pay up to almost 30 per cent more than they would for the same products at the company's larger Warwick supermarket.

Campaigners have been protesting against the price rises which have come as part of Tesco's rebranding of its branch in the Parade from a Metro to an Express.

They visited both stores recently and provided a list of 20 identical items and the difference in their prices at the store in the Parade, Leamington, and at Emscote Road in Warwick respectively.

For each of the items, customers in Leamington will have to pay at least ten per cent more and in some cases 20 per cent or more.

For example, the cost of six bananas from the Leamington branch is 75p - 20 per cent more expensive than the 64p price for the same product at the Warwick branch.

A 750ml bottle of Tesco thick bleach is 50p in Leamington compared to 39p in Warwick - 28 per cent more expansive to buy the item from the former.

A 1kg bag of baby potatoes was 22 per cent more expensive to buy from the Leamington branch (£1.40) compared to Warwick (£1.15).

The other items for comparison included cheese, cucumber, orange juice, frozen peas, 70cl of Bells Whiskey, Tetley tea bags, Nescafe Gold Blend instant coffee, 1kg bags of onions and carrots, Alpro oat milk, Marmite, Tesco baked beans and Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

All were at least ten per cent more expensive at the Leamington branch compared to Warwick.

Campaigner Peter Glanfield said: "Do people now fully realise the extent of the price difference that Tesco has arbitrarily imposed on those residents who can only shop at The Parade store?

"Most of the increases are of the order of 15 per cent.

"The corporate fluff being issued by Tesco corporate PR about 'the change in shopping habits' is complete nonsense.

"Senior and well paid executives of the company are clearly guilty of greed as they pursue their goal of increasing profits - and the people they they have specifically targeted in this case are the vulnerable, those who do not own cars who either walk to the shops or take a bus (minimising their CO2 emissions).

"Central Leamington has a large number of resident OAP's, most of whom are on a limited income and it is, I believe, immoral for Tesco directors to insist that these people now pay considerably more for the food they buy than those who arrive at the Tesco store in Emscote Road in a car. "

Last week, Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western, who is supporting the campaign, said Tesco has "betrayed Leamington residents" over the price hikes.A spokeswoman for Tesco has said that the rebranding is a result of a change is customers' shopping habits over the past few years and that all of the company's Metro stores are being rebranded "to better reflect this".

They added: "Our Metro format was originally designed for larger, weekly shops, but today nearly 70 per cent of customers use them as convenience stores, buying food for that day so the majority of them will be rebranded as Express stores.”

The spokeswoman also pointed out that the company has recently introduced Clubcard prices across all of its 1,800 express stores "offering hundreds of extra savings to its Clubcard customers".