Snow: stocks dwindled as shoppers panicked

This meant that some stores and corner shops were low on basics as delivery vans were held back by the extreme weather.

The Co-op in Seabourne Road had no bread or milk at all for one day and Pebsham councillor Charlie Clark blamed this on East Sussex County Council for lack of grit on roads.

He claimed poor access meant delivery vans were unable to use minor roads and drivers faced being stranded if they tried to get through.

The Pebsham supermarket ran out on Thursday according to Cllr Clark, who claimed the local bus service was also suspended during the cold snap.

“It was exactly the same last January,” he told the Observer.

“ESCC didn’t grit Pebsham Lane because it was not a priority – main roads are the priority. My view is that all bus routes should be able to operate to help people get around.”

In the centre of town, the Premier supermarket in Sackville Road ran out of bread but an early delivery of milk meant there was enough to meet demand and business continued as normal.

Sainsbury’s also had no problems to report, as HR manager Dean Piggott commented: “It all went relatively smoothly to be honest. We had some supply issues because of deliveries not getting through. We were very quiet on the two big days of the snow but at the weekend people came in and made up for that.

“It was a busy Saturday, definitely. The stocks were getting low and we were tight on certain things that you would expect to be tight on, such as bread and milk and soup.

“We definitely saw sales uplifted in those areas.”

In the Devonshire Road Co-op, manager Paul Scarlett said: “It was not too bad to be honest – a few people were a bit annoyed because obviously we were didn’t have the regular amounts of milk and bread. There were a couple of days when deliveries could not get to us, so we ran out on Wednesday and Thursday, but on Friday it was pretty much back to normal. But people were buying a lot more than usual.”