FOOD store bosses have defended trialling extended opening hours - which has allegedly led to staff quitting.

The East of England Co-op wants many of its Colchester and Tendring shops to open from 6am to 11pm.

The stores would also be able to sell alcohol during those times.

But Co-op customer services assistant Kevin Cook has handed in his notice at Dovercourt's Fronks Road Co-op, amid his concerns.

He claims many of his gripes are shared by Co-op staff.

Mr Cook, 52, said: "I only do one night but I personally don't like being on the till.

"I am going to be put on the till for the extra hours.

"There are mainly women in the environment and young girls have got to finish at 11pm."

Mr Cook, from Dovercourt, also raised security concerns and said questions had been asked over why there could be two staff instead of three working at night, for a rota he had seen under the new hours.

He is due to leave a few days after the trial starts, and added: "One lady has left, she had been working there 10 to 15 years, she is not coming out at 5.30am.

"She left in tears on Saturday. There is a lot of anger, a lot of disruption. It has caused a lot of bad feeling.

"They have not asked anyone, they have basically told them."

Some Co-op stores already operate under the new hours but many typically open from 7am and close at 9pm or 10pm.

Among the stores in and around Colchester to be included in the trial are Greenstead, Harwich Road, Mile End, Old Heath, Rowhedge, Prettygate, Shrub End and West Bergholt.

On Sunday the stores in the trial will have extended opening hours from 7am to 10pm.

At the moment many typically open from 8am to 10.30pm.

A spokeswoman for the East of England Co-op said the trial would start on March 31 in selected stores.

"This will align our opening hours with that of the rest of the convenience retail market, and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

"Colleagues at these stores have been consulted on the proposed changes, with a number of our stores having operated under these hours since 2018.

"Details of store opening times can be found on the East of England Co-op website.”