Britain’s most popular bread maker yesterday pulled the plug on small shops because of the coronavirus crisis. Stores which took fewer than 20 loaves were left without bread after Warburtons suddenly announced it was stopping deliveries.
And that was despite a promise from the Bolton, Greater Manchester firm with a turnover of more than £570million to scale down variety “to get more bread to more shops.” Around 2,000 corner and village shops across the country are affected out of normal daily deliveries to 20,000 stores.
One Hampshire small shop owner said it made a nonsense of locking down communities. He added: “If suppliers won’t deliver products then people will have to go out hunting for basics like bread.” Romsey Tory MP Caroline