Coronavirus: Iceland branch closes amid anger over empty shelves

Image source, Google

Image caption, Police told the store in Horley to close temporarily to "allow the situation to calm down"

Panic-buyers forced a supermarket to close after customers began "verbally abusing and pushing each other".

Tensions turned into tussles when shoppers at Iceland in Horley, Surrey, were met with empty shelves, a spokesperson said.

The store remained closed on police advice to "allow the situation to calm down" and give staff time to restock.

Surrey Police said it was called to reports of a "public order incident" at 10:00 GMT but identified no offences.

A spokesman for the frozen food chain said the "significantly increased level of tension" had been "aggravated by the fact that its delivery had not yet arrived".

"Customers began verbally abusing the store manager and also verbally abusing and pushing each other," he said.

The Victoria Road store re-opened at 11:45 and has limited the number of customers entering "to try to prevent any further issues".

Stores across the UK are struggling to keep shelves filled as people rush to stock up amid the coronavirus outbreak.