In the UK, accessing a supermarket trolley can be a challenge without a £1 coin or special key.

This frustration is compounded by the increasing reliance on contactless payments like Apple Pay, which often leaves shoppers without the necessary change for a trolley.

Now, an ingenious tip shared by an Instagram user @lookinsidemygarden who has a following of 150,000, revealed a coin isn’t always needed. In her post, she exclaimed: “I can’t believe this worked.”

She continued: “Does anyone else get to the supermarket and forgot your coin? Or like me your special coin keyring sometimes doesn’t work. So I thought I would try my luck and BOOM, we’re in.”

The social media sensation’s discovery had her rejoicing, as she concluded: “Now I can fill my trolley with 26,000 snacks for another week of the holiday munches!”

The video accompanying her caption shows the clever woman using a simple house key to unlock a Lidl trolley, with text over the top which read: “No trolley coin, no problem…”

Her life hack went viral, amassing thousands of likes and comments, as fellow shoppers geared up to test her method on their next grocery run.

One person suggested a clever workaround: “Use the key at the other end, it thinks it’s a coin. Been doing this years.”

Meanwhile, another shared their apprehension: “I’ve always been scared to do that in case my key breaks.”

A third added their voice to the conversation: “Nice! Have to remember this. My Aldi quarter lives in my cars cup holder. No one is allowed to touch it.”

Another individual expressed their excitement about the hack: “Omg! I’ll try this, in the past I’ve had to go in the shop and ask if I can have a trolley!”

And yet another commenter lamented not knowing the trick sooner as they said: “Oh I wish I knew that before today.”

So, will you be giving this tip a go? Drop us a comment below…