UK teen expelled after charging students for squirts of hand sanitiser

hand sanitizer
The student was shelling out squirts of sanitiser for 50p a pop. Photo credit: Getty.

With the Coronavirus pandemic in full swing, many people are stockpiling essential items, like soap, anti-bacterial wipes and of course, germ-killing hand sanitiser. Last month some New Zealand supermarkets were forced to limit hand sanitisers to "two per customer".

But one UK teen has taken advantage of the panic to make a little extra money on the side - with pretty severe consequences. 

Mum-of-seven Jenny Tompkins took to Facebook on Wednesday to share a photo of her 13-year-old son Oliver Tompkins getting home from school mid-morning. 

"Why is he getting in from school at 10:53am you ask? Schools don't finish until 3pm," wrote the Leeds woman. 

"Well, the little turd has just been expelled from school for the day after been caught charging students 50p (NZ$1.20)  a squirt for hand sanitiser to protect themselves from the bloody coronavirus!"

While Tompkins seemed mad at her son, she admitted it was, "very hard to discipline this behaviour when his dad phones him from work to call him a f**king legend".

The young entrepreneur ended up making £9 (NZ$18.50) from the transactions.  

"He bought a multipack of Doritos and saving the rest to buy a kebab later," revealed Tompkins. 

The post has racked up over 187,000 likes and 94,000 comments, with many praising Oliver for his salesmanship. 

"F**king legend indeed - that behaviour ought to be rewarded not punished. Why is the school punishing a young entrepreneur?" wrote one person. 

"This kid is going far," wrote another. 

"Great entrepreneurial skills. He saw supply and demand needs and took the initiative," wrote another. 

Meanwhile in Australasia, a demand for stockpiled products has reached new levels, with people fighting in the supermarket aisles over toilet paper.