Customers arriving at Chapelfield shopping mall without a face covering this weekend will be asked to make a donation to charity in return for a mask – or be turned away.

The retail hub has launched a mask taskforce who will work to ensure government guidance on face coverings are adhered to. The move comes after the government made the announcement last week that anyone who fails to comply with wearing a face covering into a shop – unless they are exempt – will be fined £1,000.

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As a result customers without a face covering will be asked by the group to purchase a disposable mask, the proceeds of which will be donated to charity. The funds will be split between local domestic violence charities Leeway and Dawn’s New Horizon. The recommended minimum donation is £1 per mask. Intu Chapelfield has donated the masks so every pound collected will go straight to the charities.

“People are not permitted to enter intu Chapelfield shopping centre without a mask, but we’re conscious that some of our visitors may not be aware of the new rules or may forget to bring a face covering with them,” said Sheridan Smith, marketing manager at intu Chapelfield. “Our aim is always to make everyone’s shopping experience pleasant and stress free and we definitely don’t want to have to turn anyone away.

“Therefore, our friendly ‘mask taskforce’ will be on hand to help. Last weekend we collected £260 for these two local charities so we know many customers found our mask taskforce helpful.”

Chapelfield has enlisted the support Norwich company Daisy Entertainment to help customers with their masks. Ms Smith added: “Our ‘mask taskforce’ will be wearing brightly coloured, festival inspired costumes so they’ll be easy to spot, and they will of course be wearing masks themselves. “We have put a process in place to ensure that people only touch the mask that they are taking, and only after first sanitising their hands.”