Crisps in short supply across Worcester after IT glitch

Shoppers have been left bemused over the past week as they've searched for their favourite multipacks to no avail. 

Empty shelves have become a common theme in stores across the country, with a lack of lorry drivers cited as the main cause for baron aisles.

However, Leicester based snack manufacturing giant Walkers has said that an IT upgrade is in fact to blame for the shortages.

It is understood that the firm has even asked retailers to stop promotions of its products in a bid to avoid supplies running dry.

On the Tesco's website, multiple crisp brands have been listed as 'unavailable', including family favourites McCoy's, Wotsits and Quavers.

It's thought that supplies of other crisps, including supermarket's own brands, have been depleted as shoppers opt for alternatives to fill the cupboards.

And the shortages have now hit the shelves of Worcester.

In Tesco, our reporter found there were no crisps apart from a promotional stand of Skips.

The situation in Waitrose wasn't much better, either, with large sections of the aisle completely ransacked.

The crisp aisle at Waitrose.

However, Asda did still have a good supply of multiple big-name brands.

A spokeswoman for Walkers said they were "working round the clock" to increase the supply to stores across the UK.

She added: "We are currently experiencing disruption to the supply of some of our Walkers snacks products, as a result of a recent IT system upgrade.

"We're very sorry for the inconvenience.

"We're incredibly grateful to all our colleagues in Leicester and our other sites for their hard work and dedication as we work through this issue."