Shortages hit bread and milk supplies

Icy roads curtail deliveries of basic foods and shelves begin to empty very fast

Snowbound shoppers have been urged not to panic buy, as Perth and Kinross faces a major bread and milk shortage.

Shopkeepers have reported dwindling supplies as local bakeries and dairies struggle to make their deliveries through Arctic conditions.

Yesterday morning, shoppers were faced with almost empty shelves in bread aisles at supermarkets and corner shops.

Delivery lorries are having trouble reaching their destination, with drifting snow causing white-out conditions on some rural roads.

A line of HGVs parked up at Balbeggie yesterday as drivers waited for conditions on the A93 Perth to Coupar Angus road to improve.

In Perth city centre, mum-of-three Deborah Findlay was on the hunt for bread and other supplies.

The 33-year-old said: “There was a lot of empty shelves in Tesco, but they had more than I was expecting.

“There was hardly any bread. It looked like they were about to run out.

“We’ve had to buy a brown loaf and that’s not going to go down well with my six-year-old. It will have to do, though.”

Sandy Sarwar, who runs Price Kracker convenience stores in Alyth and Blairgowrie, said: “The weather warnings have been pretty good and I think people are better prepared. I haven’t seen much evidence of panic buying so far.

“But we could have real problems if the snow continues.”

He said: “We’ve managed to stay stocked up, but we are in short supply of bread and milk.

“I’ve been on the phone to the dairy we use in Dundee, but they say they just can’t make the deliveries.

“I’ve been going out myself and buying up bread and things from where I can get them.

“I do know other shops in the area that have completely run out of milk. Shoppers are going from store to store getting what they need.”

Big name retailers in Perth, including Debenhams and New Look, closed their doors and told staff to stay home.

The city centre jobcentre has also closed, with a note in the window saying “Appointments excused today”.

However, Courier readers in Guildtown were kept abreast of local news thanks to local paper girl Susannah Welch. Dad Jack said the 15-year-old, who was standing in for her big sister Olivia, used a sledge to get the papers to homes throughout the village.

Picture: Steven Brown. Left: a sign spells out the situation starkly to customers at one shop. Above: Zahid Hussain of Leslie Mini Market next to the rapidly emptying shelves in his store.