When it comes to shopping, most women will admit men get in the way.

There are two solutions to this age-old problem. One: men change their ways and embrace wholeheartedly what historically has been a "female" task. Two: shops provide male creche facilities.

Unfortunately for women, the former option remains unlikely.

As for the latter, supermarkets are already looking at ways of setting up creches for men.

The idea is to create a safe place to leave a man while his partner gets on with the shopping. There, he can chew over sports stories, settle down comfortably with the latest magazine and enjoy refreshments.

Supermarket giant Tesco is considering providing a creche for men at the newest addition to its empire at Peterborough.

It would boast games machines, the Internet, tea and coffee and possibly a barber. If successful, the idea could be extended to other large stores, including those in York.

A Tesco spokesman said: "Research has shown that within the first hour of going shopping in a supermarket a row would generally break out due to stress levels. We are looking to see what we can do."

At Monks Cross Shopping Centre, near York, a temporary male creche is set up when there is a major sporting event, such as an England World Cup football match.

The men can watch the screen "and their wives don't have to go through the hideous ordeal of watching the game," said Kathryn Hague, Monks Cross manager.

But she said there wasn't the space to make the facility permanent.

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