Shoppers urged not to panic buy as 'pingdemic' blamed for stock shortages

Supermarkets across the UK are urging shoppers to avoid panic buying as reports of empty shelves emerge.

The UK's biggest supermarkets described any shortages as "patchy" across stores but said they are continuing to receive regular deliveries.

Grocers say the shortage of HGV drivers due to the 'pingdemic' and the hot weather were all contributing to delivery glitches.

They have stressed that panic buyers would only create a problem that did not exist, and urged everyone to continue to shop normally.

Almost 620,000 have been 'pinged' by the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales - the highest weekly figure ever recorded.

It's a jump of 19% on the previous week, when 520,194 alerts were sent.

Rules surrounding self-isolation following contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus are not due to change until August 16.

A Co-op spokesman said: "We are sorry that we are running low on some products. Like many retailers, we are impacted by some patchy disruption to our deliveries and store operations but we are working closely with our suppliers to get re-stocked quickly."

A spokeswoman from Sainsburys said: "We are working hard to ensure customers can find what they need. While we might not always have the exact product a customer is looking for in every store, large quantities of products are being delivered to stores daily and our colleagues are focused on getting them on to the shelves as quickly as they can."

Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland Foods.

Elsewhere, chain Pret A Manger has been forced to temporarily close 17 of its stores due to staff being forced to self-isolate.

The head of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson, has suggested rules around self-isolation could be changed for people working in food supply chains following rising in the number of staff members self-isolating.

Listen to Coronavirus: What You Need To Know - the Covid-19 podcast from ITV News