A STORE in Basildon had an empty loo roll shelf last night, ahead of new Covid-19 restrictions being announced.

A picture shared to the Echo's Facebook page, taken between 7pm and 8pm on Monday night, shows bare shelves in the section for toilet roll at the Asda store in Pipps Hill Retail Park.

It comes as new restrictions were announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging people to work from home if they can, and a curfew on pubs and restaurants meaning they must close by 10pm.

Some supermarkets across the UK have reported that customers had begun to stockpile toilet roll and food, following suggestions of an incoming second lockdown.

Reduced-price food aisles and hygiene sections at some stores have been left depleted in recent days - in scenes familiar to March and early April, after the Government warned of rising coronavirus cases across the UK.

But the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged people to "shop as they normally would" and that there is no need to stockpile.