DOZENS of shoppers in Leominster were up early this morning to queue at a supermarket before opening time.

A crowd of customers collected trollies and queued outside the Aldi store in Leominster.

Virginie Alexandra Jacquet who captured the queue on video said it is "just shocking". 

"(I'm) so sorry for those who are vulnerable or have families truly in need," she added.

Live coronavirus updates for Herefordshire

Supplies including toilet paper, cleaning products, pasta and tinned food are amongst the items which are difficult to find on the shelves of supermarket across the county.

Major bosses in the retail industry have been urging customers to stop panic buying in light of the developing coronavirus situation.

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The boss of Aldi has issued a personal plea to customers not to panic-buy amid the coronavirus outbreak - stressing 'there is enough for everyone'.

In a letter published on the supermarket chain's social media pages on Monday, he said: "As you will be aware, all supermarkets have been working very hard to keep up with demand over the last few days.

"I am writing to reassure you, and all our other valued customers, that our colleagues and trusted suppliers are working round the clock to keep our warehouses fully stocked.

"We have increased orders from our suppliers and our warehouses have sufficient stock to replenish all stores. This includes all of the essentials such as sanitary and baby products. 

"Our amazing colleagues have been working tirelessly to restock our stores. However, unprecedented demand for certain products has made it difficult for us to ensure that there are no gaps on shelves.

"All of our stores receive daily deliveries, often multiple times a day. So if a certain product is not available when you visit, it will be replenished in the overwhelming majority of cases by the following day.

"We have taken action to discourage people buying more than they need. Customers are currently limited to buying four items of any one product during each visit.

"This is still significantly more than most customers would buy in a normal shopping trip and we hope this temporary restriction will give as many customers as possible the opportunity to get what they need, every time they visit.

"I’m sure, like me, you are also concerned about those who are vulnerable at this time. Not everyone has the financial or practical resources to buy in bulk, including our elderly customers.

"We all have a responsibility to ensure we only buy what we and our families need. If we shop as we normally do, our stores will quickly return to normal.

"Finally, my sincere thanks to you for your continued support and to every single one of our colleagues. It’s the people at Aldi that make our business special and they have come together like never before to serve you, our customers, during this extremely busy time."

Some supermarkets chains have already introduced rationing to fight food shortages in the worsening coronavirus outbreak.

Customers at Sainsbury's are now only able to buy a maximum of three of any grocery products and a maximum of two on the most popular items like toilet paper.

Tesco has also imposed similar restrictions on the amount of baked beans, dry pasta and UHT milk people can buy.

From yesteday Asda shopper are also limited to purchasing only maximum three of all food items, toiletries and cleaning products.