Brits go on panic buying-frenzy in supermarkets on first day of lockdown 3.0

Brits have been frantic in supermarkets and stocking up their trolleys as a new lockdown started yesterday.

Photos emerging of shelves in shops show frozen and cupboard goods stripped bare, after Boris Johnson announced the country's third lockdown on Monday.

The toilet roll aisle at a Tesco supermarket in Cambridgeshire was bare today as shoppers stockpiled essentials for the lockdown, which will last until mid Febrauary.

Freezers had also been emptied as well as bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, writes The Mirror.

But supermarkets are urging people not to stockpile items as there is no risk to supply to essentials.

The new national lockdown, which will close schools and colleges as well as the hospitality sector, is set to last until mid February.

It's already in place but didn't become law until midnight on Wednesday.

It was introduced after the number of positive coronavirus cases reached record numbers on Tuesday, as more than 60,000 cases were recorded for the first time since the pandemic began.

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The recent spike in cases has largely been attributed to the new mutant strain of Covid, which is said to be 70% more transmittable.

Home delivery slots for supermarkets are getting booked up, as many customers claim they're struggling to get slots and websites are crashing due to the number of visitors on the site.

Major chains saw their apps and sites experience issues on Monday evening after the Prime Minister plunged England into lockdown with a stay-at-home order.

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Tesco bosses were holding discussions to review item limits for online baskets, as well restrictions across popular items like toilet rolls, pasta and antibacterial wipes.

Sainsbury's said it had temporarily limited access to online groceries service on Monday night to "manage high demand for slots and updates customers were making to existing orders".

Brits spent £11.7billion in supermarkets throughout December in their busiest month ever.

Data revealed the record December helped sales jump 11.4% to £32.7billion over the 12 weeks to December 27.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: "December is always an incredibly busy time for supermarkets, but take-home grocery shopping is usually supplemented by celebrations in restaurants, pubs and bars – with £4 billion spent on food and drink, excluding alcohol, out of the home during the normal festive month.

"This year, almost all those meals were eaten at home and retailers stepped up monumentally to meet the surge in demand."

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