Waitrose shoppers' dismay over empty supermarket shelves across West Sussex

The upmarket grocery chain – part of the John Lewis group – is renowned for the quality of its goods.

But many people in towns across the county have been raising concerns over the past few days over the number of empty shelves with a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with a shortage of other fresh goods.

Residents say that Waitrose stores in Chichester, Horsham, Burgess Hill and Storrington are among towns and villages affected. There have also been reports of shortages in supermarkets in Surrey, including at Horley, Dorking, Godalming and Kingston.

Some people have expressed concerns on social media. One Sussex resident described Horsham Waitrose as ‘absolutely barren’ on Saturday, adding: "I can understand the occasional shortage, but today was as if Waitrose had a serious supply issue."

Another shopper added: "Hardly any fruit and veg on Monday." A Chichester resident reported there was little in the way of fresh meat available.

Others said they had a number of ‘missing items’ from their home deliveries and yet others said they were unable to book any delivery slots.

Some said they had been told by local Waitrose staff that there was an IT problem.

A spokesperson for Waitrose said: "We apologise to those customers who didn't get everything they needed. We've sent extra deliveries out to branches, and are working hard to get additional stock delivered throughout the day."

The spokesperson said the root cause was a system update that had run slower than planned but that it was now fixed and that branches were continuing to get regular deliveries.