Supermarkets across the UK are telling the same story today. Essential items are out of stock in chain superstores no matter where you look - and Northampton is no different.
Over the weekend, national supermarkets appealed for calm in an open letter signed by giants like Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda.
They asked for shoppers to stop panic buying during the coronavirus pandemic and to "be considerate when shopping".
Stores across the UK have been stripped of basic household items including toilet roll, hand soap and pasta - and Northampton is no different.
Bare shelves across Northampton's super stores show what shoppers feel they need the most in a crisis. Long-life milk, tinned goods and eggs have become near impossible to find. Cleaning products like bleach, bin liners and anti-bacterial spray are scarce.
In nearly all stores, fresh produce is in good supply - but non-perishables and tinned goods like beans, tuna and tinned tomatoes are hard to find.
Even at opening time on a Monday morning, shoppers were lining up to enter stores.
One woman told the Chronicle & Echo as she left Aldi in the Mounts: "I wouldn't normally shop on a Monday morning - so, yeah, I guess you could say it's because I'm panicking.
"If everyone else is getting stuff in then why shouldn't I?
"We're being told not to panic but to me that's load of rubbish. I keep looking at other countries like Italy and it makes me wonder how bad it will get here.
"I just want to stock up on stuff."
At a Boots Pharmacy in town centre, a staff member told the Chron they sold out of handwash at 8.30am despite resupplying.
A woman in Morrisons, on Victoria Promenade, said she had been to three different stores in search of ketchup.
Another woman told the Chron: "I've just come back from visiting home in France and I need to get things in. I cannot buy eggs or pasta or rice anywhere.
"I'm just going to do what I'm told and follow advice. Maybe I'll starve before I die of coronavirus."
In their open letter, the country's supermarkets said staff were "working day and night to keep the nation fed".
"But we need your help too," the letter reads. "We would ask everyone to be considerate ion the way they shop.
"We understand your concerns but buying more than is needed can sometimes mean that others will be left without. There is enough for everyone if we all work together."
1. Four per customer - Aldi
Temporary signs at Aldi on Ash Street, the Mounts, telling customers that certain items are now restricted to four per customer.
