Sweeties turn sour

TRADITIONAL sweets are the latest item to be hit by labour shortages.

Bon bons, alphabet letters, candy lipsticks, jelly buttons and bubble gum could be missing from shops this Christmas.

There is also a shortage of liquorice and chocolate selection boxes.

Wesley Thorne, of sweet shop and online retailer Treasure Island, said: “There won’t be the range normally available this year and prices will rise.

“Manufacturers used to have a lot of Eastern Europeans on production lines. Now they can’t get people to fill those jobs.”

Hold-ups of imported ingredients like sugar have added to problems.