Forced to sleep at Walmart because of the storm

Shopping at a Walmart has turned into an adventure for dozens of shoppers in southern Ontario after they were unable to leave the store due to terrible weather conditions outside.

Forced to sleep at Walmart because of the storm

Shopping at a Walmart has turned into an adventure for dozens of shoppers in southern Ontario after they were unable to leave the store due to terrible weather conditions outside.

• Read also: Hydro-Québec: tens of thousands of customers still without power

• To read also: [IN IMAGES] See the damage of the storm all over Quebec

Employees therefore began to inflate mattresses, and set up a whole buffet for stuck customers, reports the Toronto Star.

“The cars were in ditches. Some of them broke down in the middle of the road. No one could get through,” said Heather Nickoli, a customer about conditions in Chatham-Kent, Ont., Friday afternoon.

He and a friend were en route from Ohio to Peterborough, Ont., to spend Christmas with the family when conditions forced the 401 highway to close.

The couple booked a room in Chatham-Kent and decided to stop at a Walmart on the way, but they didn't get far after shopping.

The police turned them away, telling them they wouldn't even make it to their hotel and would have to spend the night in the store.

“We walked into Walmart and there were probably 100 people with nowhere to go,” he adds.

According to Walmart, around 50 customers spent the night in the store, including young children.

The staff even allowed children to play with toys available on the shelves.

Another Walmart in Fort Erie, Ont., also took in a family that got stranded on Friday night.

Everyone was allowed to leave on Saturday morning.

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