BRADFORD South MP Judith Cummins has called on supermarkets to ensure community groups and care homes can continue to purchase essential items from stores.

In a letter to the supermarkets that serve Bradford South, as well as the British Retail Consortium representing all major supermarkets, Mrs Cummins asked the retailers to consider how community groups and care homes could be allowed to purchase enough food to feed multiple people.

This follows concerns from local community organisations who provide food to elderly and vulnerable people that measures designed to prevent stockpiling would hinder their important work.

In the letter, Mrs Cummins thanked supermarkets and their staff for their work to ensure people can still purchase essentials during the Covid-19 outbreak. She then called on supermarkets to urgently “set up ways to ensure that community organisations and care homes can get the supplies they need in one visit to your supermarkets".

She said: “The restrictions on buying multiple items are sensible but this is inadvertently hindering community groups and care homes who are doing vital work at the moment. After speaking with several local groups, I have written to the supermarkets to ask them to look at this issue urgently."