'Please bear with us': How Tesco, Sainsbury's and ASDA's shelves are faring

The shortage is being put down to drivers being 'pinged' by the NHS Track and Trace app and having to self isolate as well as Brexit issues.

Worcester News sent a reporter to five big supermarkets in the city including Tesco, Sainsbury's and ASDA.

And while there is definitely no need to panic buy, there are definite signs of supply issues.

In all stores there is enough products available for people to do their weekly shops.

But in certain sections some brands were missing while there were fewer items than you would expect.

Our advice - be prepared to have to switch to a different brand or find an alternative.

Here's how our local shops are faring:

Sainsbury's Blackpole

The most obvious signs of issues with supply at Sainsbury's was in the bottled water aisle where big branded signs were placed on shelves.

They asked shoppers to "Please bear with us we're experiencing high demand".

Read more: Warning to people shopping at Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons or Sainsbury's

While the shop remained generally well stocked, there were other noticeable gaps in the aisles.

There were fewer items than you would expect in the meat aisle and the pitta bread section was empty.

Waitrose, London Road

Waitrose in London Road was also generally well stocked but there were some signs of shortages.

The fruit section in particular had gaps with only a few packets of strawberries and nets of oranges remaining.

The water aisle also had obvious empty spaces but there were still some bottles left on the shelves.

Tesco, Warndon

Helpfully, in Tesco on Windermere Drive they had placed tags telling customers when out of stock items were expected to be delivered again.

Customers may have to switch brands in the meantime to complete their shopping list.

These tags were noticeable throughout the shop with some tinned items such as pineapple slices missing and gaps in the juice and vegetable aisle.

Aldi, Pheasant Street

There were very few signs of supply issues at the Aldi store in Pheasant Street.

Even the much loved middle aisle was stocked full of everything from a dinosaur stool to pyjamas.

The only gaps were one brand of toilet rolls were missing and the soft drinks aisles had fewer items than usual.

ASDA, Silver Street

The squash and juices aisle in ASDA had the clearest signs of shortage with gaps and cardboard signs taking up valuable shelf space.

The rest of the store though, like the other supermarkets, was generally well stocked but there were still a few missing or fewer items.

The fruit and veg aisle and freezers both had empty sections while there were no naan breads and fewer items in the bread aisle such - though there were lots of sliced loaves were plentiful.