PEOPLE living on the Isle of Mull have hit out at shortages at the island's only supermarket which has forced them to take take 24-mile round trips to buy their groceries.
Concerns were raised after images on social media showed empty shelves at the Tobermory Co-op.
Mull resident Andrew Wilson said on Twitter it had been a problem “for months now”.
He told the BBC: "We keep getting the usual response that it's a nationwide problem with shortages.
"The only problem for Mull residents is that we don't have any other option to shop elsewhere.
"Because of the limited ferries running this time of year it's difficult to get off the island to shop, so we are reliant on the Co-op, especially the elderly."
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Sam Jones, who lives in Tobermory, said the nearest shops to the Co-op are 14 and 24 hours away. He added: "We have tremendous staff in #Tobermory, however, senior @coopuk managers need to know this can’t go on. We’re can’t just pop to Tesco instead. Our alternatives are a Premier & Spar round trips of 14 & 24 miles. Don’t send more mince pies and other seasonal crap, send fresh food."
We have tremendous staff in #Tobermory, however, senior @coopuk managers need to know this can’t go on. We’re can’t just pop to Tesco instead. Our alternatives are a Premier & Spar round trips of 14 & 24 miles. Don’t send more mince pies and other seasonal crap, send fresh food. pic.twitter.com/RWOzExiAYS
— Sam Jones (@samjonesrnli) October 25, 2021
Co-op has apologised and said the situation at its Tobermory shop and a number of its other stores was caused by a "severe ordering system failure".
It said it was working to resolve the problem and new stock was arriving.
A spokeswoman said: "We understand the genuine inconvenience this will have caused our customers and are taking immediate steps to divert emergency additional supplies to the store to help them restock as quickly as possible, as serving our island communities is a priority and a responsibility we take very seriously."
The UK has been facing food shortages since the UK Government introduced stringent Brexit immigration policies and took Britain out the EU market for goods and energy, making it much harder for British companies to hire European workers and much more costly for them to do business with the country's single biggest trading partner.
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