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Covid: Morrisons limits sales of disinfectant and toilet rolls

Charles Heslett/BBC Morrisons shelves clearedCharles Heslett/BBC
Limits are being applied to certain products to prevent panic buying at Morrisons supermarkets

Shoppers at Morrisons face restrictions on the number of items they can purchase to prevent panic buying.

The supermarket chain has put a limit of three items per customer on some ranges, including toilet rolls and disinfectant products.

It said stock levels "were good", but the firm wanted to "make sure they were available for everyone".

The British Retail Consortium said supply chains were "stronger than ever".

Bradford-based Morrisons said restrictions would be sign-posted on shelf edges at tills.

A spokeswoman said: "We have some products with limits on all year round such as paracetamol and so it works in just the same way."

Shelves at some stores were left depleted recently after the Government warned of rising coronavirus cases across the UK and the possibility of stricter lockdown measures.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged consumers to be considerate of others and "shop as you normally would".

Despite scenes at some stores, supermarket giants Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Lidl and Aldi said they had "good availability" earlier in the week and had not experienced any shortages yet.

Tesco added its online capacity had more than doubled from 600,000 weekly delivery slots in March to 1.5 million in September.

Director of food and sustainability at the BRC, Andrew Opie, said: "Supply chains are stronger than ever before and we do not anticipate any issues in the availability of food or other goods under a future lockdown.

"Nonetheless, we urge consumers to be considerate of others and shop as they normally would."

Getty Images Asda shoppers wearing face coveringsGetty Images
Asda is to enforce the rules on face coverings during the pandemic and deploy 'safety marshals' at its stores

Meanwhile, Asda is set to enforce rules on face coverings more strictly across its shops amid the pandemic.

Customers who do not have a covering when they enter a store will be offered a pack of disposable masks that they can pay for at the end of their trip.

The firm announced on Wednesday that it will create 1,000 new "safety marshal" roles across its 639 UK stores.

Dedicated staff will remind shoppers to wear face coverings in-store and provide customers with sanitised shopping baskets on arrival.

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