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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Lydia Stephens

Welsh supermarket shelves being stripped of toilet roll as shoppers react to coronavirus

The aisles of Welsh supermarkets are running low on toilet roll.

Shops including Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Lidl and Asda have all had a selection of their toilet roll cleared from the aisles.

Hand sanitiser is also running low in many supermarkets and pharmacists.

The UK government has said it is "confident" food supplies will not run out, with health secretary Matt Hancock saying people should not buy more than they need.

Responding to a question about panic-buying from a Question Time audience member, Mr Hancock said there was "absolutely no need" for people to buy in excess.

"The government has supplies of the key things that are needed. And within the food supply, we are absolutely confident that there won't be a problem there," he said.

"Crucially, we are working with the supermarkets to make sure that, if people are self-isolating, then we will be able to get the food and supplies that they need."

But the BBC says it has been told by a supermarket executive that sales of cupboard basics had "gone through the roof".

He said sales of cupboard basics such as pasta and tinned goods had "gone through the roof" and teams were working "round the clock" to keep shelves stocked, using processes and staffing levels set up in case of a no-deal Brexit.

One customer described the empty shelves as a clear example of "panic buying", mirroring the actions of people around the world as cases of coronavirus continue to rise.

Panic buying loo roll has been a particular issue in Australia where three of the country's top five Twitter trends were centred on the shortage.

The shortage of toilet roll in Welsh supermarkets was first spotted on Wednesday, March 4, in Sainsbury's in Newport .

Sainsbury's toilet roll shelves empty in Newport (Lauren Goodland)

Two shelves were left mostly empty with only a select number of loo roll brands left to buy.

A Sainsbury's customer also spotted the same issue in their Thornhill branch in Cardiff , on Thursday, adding thay they did not understand the panic buying of toilet roll.

This is what the loo roll aisle in Sainsbury's looked like on Thursday:

Sainsbury's toilet roll shelves empty in Thornhill (Shazia Awan-Scully)

We also visited more big supermakets on Friday morning, and found that anti-bacterial hand wipes and wet wipes were running low.

This is what we found in the loo roll aisles...

Tesco, Gabalfa

Plenty of toilet roll in Tesco, Gabalfa (Lydia Stephens)
The bulk buy section is stocked (Lydia Stephens)

Plenty of loo roll of all brands and luxuries available in 'Big' Tesco. They even have the bigger packs featured in their Bulk Buys aisle.

Aldi, Gabalfa

The bigger packs in Aldi, Gabalfa have been hit (Lydia Stephens)
Plenty of smaller packs though (Lydia Stephens)

The larger packs of toilet roll in Aldi, Gabalfa, were a bit sparse, but they had plenty of smaller packs in a wide variety, both quilted and aloe vera enthused.

Sainsbury's, Thornhill

Lots of the cheaper loo roll left in Sainsbury's (Lydia Stephens)
The shelves had been clearedof some of the bigger brands (Lydia Stephens)

While they may have had more stock in from their morning delivery, this supermarket was the most affected by the panic buying.

A full shelf was empty, but there were plenty of the stores discount and own brand loo roll left.

Lidl, Llanishen

Business as usual in Lidl in Llanishen (Lydia Stephens)

Business as usual in Lidl in Llanishen, though their bigger packs of Cushelle were looking a little sparse.

Asda, Coryton

Shelves in Asda were looking pretty empty (Lydia Stephens)
One customer said: "This is what panic buying looks like" (Lydia Stephens)

Shelves in Asda were looking pretty empty, with most of the well-known brands taking the biggest hit.

Once again, there were still plenty of the smaller packs of loo roll, showing it's the larger bulk buy packs that people are after.

Morrisons, Llanishen

(Lydia Stephens)
Morrisons are prepared (Lydia Stephens)

While parts of the shelves in Morrisons in Llanishen were empty, the store is more than prepared for any bulk-buying with a number of packs of loo roll spilling out onto the store's floor.

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