Tesco and Morrisons are trying to avoid a repeat of scenes in March when shoppers cleared the shelves of essential items such as toilet roll, hand sanitiser and pasta.

Tesco said it had enough stock but had introduced the limits to prevent shortages caused by bulk buying.

The supermarket has introduced a three-items per customer limit on flour, dried pasta, toilet roll, baby wipes and anti-bacterial wipes.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We have good availability, with plenty of stock to go round, and we would encourage our customers to shop as normal.

“To ensure that everyone can keep buying what they need, we have introduced bulk-buy limits on a small number of products.

“To help our customers shop safely, we will also have colleagues at the entrances of our larger stores to remind customers about the safety measures we have in place, including the legal requirement to wear a face covering.”

Rival supermarket Morrisons said purchases will be restricted to three items per customer “on a small number of products” including toilet roll and disinfectant.

A Morrisons spokesperson told ITV News there is plenty of stock available on these items but that they want to ensure “that they are available for everyone”.