Return of the loo roll loonies: Anxious shoppers strip shelves of toilet paper and household essentials ahead of national lockdown on Thursday

Shoppers braved atrocious weather yesterday to stock up on household essentials ahead of the lockdown.

Hours before Boris Johnson officially announced the move, queues formed outside supermarkets around the country as customers sought to get in supplies.

Hundreds waited outside Costcos in Manchester, London and Southampton, while shelves were stripped of loo rolls at Poundland in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Hours before Boris Johnson officially announced the move, queues formed outside supermarkets around the country as customers sought to get in supplies

Lorraine Foster, who went to a Costco in Sudbury to pick up some Halloween treats, said: ‘The queue was enormous, it’s ridiculous. I think people are just starting to get a bit anxious now with the new restrictions about to come.’

Meanwhile, Ocado delivery slots were also in high demand, with the online supermarket saying it was ‘selling out faster than usual’.

Big chains such as Tesco and Asda said it was too early to tell whether people had regressed to the panic-buying of earlier in the year and reassured customers that they had plenty of stock to deal with increased demand.

Sainsbury’s said: ‘We aren’t currently restricting products. Customers can continue to shop safely and with confidence in our stores, where they will see we have good availability.’ 

A Tesco spokesman added: ‘We would encourage our customers to shop as normal.’

However, there were signs on social media that some customers were stocking up, with Twitter user Sinead Johnson saying: ‘I popped into Asda to get a few bits for my Halloween movie night and half the shelves were empty already. The panic buying has started.’

It is understood that supermarkets were given no advanced warning of a national lockdown. One source said: ‘The Government has blindsided us again.’

Hundreds waited outside Costcos in Manchester, London and Southampton. People are seen buying toilet rolls at Costco Watford

Shoppers braved atrocious weather yesterday to stock up on household essentials ahead of the lockdown