Covid-19 coronavirus: Fiery shoppers confronted over baby formula in Australia

The older man could be heard telling the couple "Put it back," to which the male baby formula shopper yelled, "No!" Photo / @KeiraSavage00/Twitter

Shoppers at a Big W store in Australia had to be separated after an altercation over baby formula — and the entire stoush was captured on video.

Shoppers confronted a man and a woman after they were reportedly seen lining up numerous times at the checkout with formula tins.

Another shopper told a man carrying two tins of formula and wearing a face mask to "put them back" because Big W limits the number of tins per customer, news.com.au reports.

The conflict escalates before other shoppers and staff step in, confiscating the tins and escorting the pair out of the store.

"Australians have clearly had enough," said the woman who posted the video on Facebook.

Other shoppers and Big W security staff got involved to separate the pair. Photo / @KeiraSavage00/Twitter

The clip has received more than 1500 likes and more than 480 retweets since it was shared early Sunday morning.

The confrontation began when a man standing in line behind the couple stepped forward and told them to "put it back".

The woman told him it was "none of your business" and her male companion asked, "what have I done?".

"I'll take you outside buster," the shopper tells the man holding the tins, before the two begin lunging at each other.

The footage shows other shoppers running over to separate the pair before a Big W staff member intervenes.

"You're not allowed to buy the formula and that's it," she tells the pair.

The older man could be heard telling the couple "Put it back," to which the male baby formula shopper yelled, "No!" Photo / @KeiraSavage00/Twitter

Many have shared words of support on social media for the man who confronted the couple.

"This was always going to happen. Quiet Australians will take matters into their own hands when they've had enough of the piss-take," wrote one Twitter user.

"Well done to the gentleman who had the courage to call them out," added another. "If we all showed the same courage, this behaviour would not occur. Enough is enough!"

Major retailers like Big W, Coles and Woolworths have long had a policy of two baby formula tins per purchase to deter those thought to be buying on behalf of others and shipping products overseas.

After shoppers at a supermarket in Sydney's south were recently filmed filling trolleys with baby formula, Coles said: "It's extremely disappointing when any customer doesn't comply with the product limits that are in place to ensure everyone has access to the essential groceries they need."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website