panic buying again
Lifestyle

Brits are panic buying again as lockdown 3.0 comes into force

Fruit and veg, rice and loo roll are on the panic buyers' lists

Brits are panic buying again, just hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson plunged England into its third full lockdown.

Shoppers have reported bare shelves in supermarkets up and down the country.

Top of the shopping list this time around appears to be rice, fresh fruit and veg and, of course, toilet roll.

New pictures show scenes reminiscent of those we first saw back in March 2020, when the country was originally locked down.

supermarket shelves ransacked
Toilet roll proved popular in the second lockdown back in November (Credit: Splash News)

Panic buying starts for lockdown 3.0

This time around, it appears panic set in almost immediately following Boris Johnson’s announcement.

Read more: Boris Johnson to host press briefing as SAGE warns lockdown isn’t enough

One man in Leeds was seen with a trolley full of toilet paper.

How am I supposed to eat if there’s no grocery delivery for a week, Sainsbury’s?

The fresh fruit and veg aisle in a branch of Sainsbury’s also appeared to be bare.

They were also queuing around the store to get into Costco in Watford earlier on today (January 5).

supermarket shelves ransacked
While pasta was popular last time, rice is on the panic buyers’ list for lockdown 3.0 (Credit: Splash News)

Virtual queues are forming, too

Online there were also queues, with reports of 15,000 people in the Ocado queue today.

“And so the panic buying has begun!” said one shopper, who posted a screenshot of the queue of virtual shoppers in front of them.

Read more: Michael Gove warns lockdown could extend into March

Asda shoppers also complained of being held in virtual queues before they could access the website.

“It’s March 2020 all over again,” said another Brit.

Poster

Another shared a screen shot of unavailable Sainsbury’s delivery slots.

It showed no slots available up until January 12, while the person confirmed they couldn’t leave the house due to a positive COVID-19 test.

“How am I supposed to eat if there’s no grocery delivery for a week, Sainsbury’s?” they asked.

There were reports that the store’s app crashed last night, and Sainsbury’s revealed that it had limited access to it while it dealt with high demand.

supermarket shelves ransacked
Back in March, fresh food appeared to be in short supply (Credit: Cover Images)

How have Brits reacted to the news?

Brits have taken to Twitter to slam the people who have started panic buying again.

One concerned Brit asked stores to introduce limits again to stop panic buying.

“Asda, please bring back your limits on essential items. Your Govan store was a joke last night, everyone panic buying and hardly anything left on the shelves,” they said.

People panic buying again…. didn’t they realise that last time people did this they had to throw away most of their food?” said another.

“Stop being selfish and think about others that…. we are all going through the same situation,” they urged.

Essential stores – including supermarkets – will remain open throughout the new lockdown.

Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and tell us what you think of people panic buying again.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor