Threat of rationing as towns run low on lavatory rolls

ENTIRE towns were said to be running low on lavatory paper last night as the Prime Minister pleaded with the public to stop panic buying and “shop responsibly”.

Ministers agreed a deal yesterday to allow shops to take emergency nighttime deliveries after shop shelves in some areas were emptied of key household goods.

Supermarkets urged customers to “be kind” amid fears that vulnerable and elderly people might be left without essential items including lavatory paper, tinned food and hand sanitiser.

In the Suffolk town of Sudbury, the local tourism board warned residents of “low supplies of toilet roll at Waitrose, Tesco & Sainsburys in the town today”.

In other parts of the country, shoppers complained on social media that they had searched for toilet rolls in their local areas without success.

Others said they had ordered lavatory paper online but were told that supplies had run out.

A source at Tesco admitted that some delivery centres were running low on lavatory paper and other goods but added they would be restocked soon. Other major supermarkets refused to comment.

Meanwhile, hotels threatened to begin rationing lavatory paper in response to a surge in thefts.

Kit Chapman, proprietor of the Castle Hotel in Taunton, Devon, wrote: “Over the past 24 hours, housekeepers (at the Castle Hotel) have reported 17 loo rolls stolen.”

A spokesman for the hotel added: “If this problem is not contained, we may have to ration supplies to our guests.”