Coronavirus ravaged Italy, Spain and France have fully stocked supermarkets while panic buying Brits clear the shelves
SUPERMARKETS in Europe badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic have fully stacked shelves and orderly queues at a safe distance - putting Britain to shame.
The government and food bosses have begged Brits to stop panic buying - but selfish shoppers have ignored their pleas, with hand sanitiser, bleach, tinned food and pasta all greedily bought in bulk.
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The health service's medical director Stephen Powis yesterday hit out at "selfish" shoppers hoarding goods and said they should be "ashamed" of themselves.
Panic buying Brits have queued outside stores from 6am and stripped the shelves bare within just one hour, despite appeals for calm.
By contrast, supermarkets in Italy, France, Spain and Germany have been limiting how many people can enter a store at one time.
In parts of Italy, the country worst hit by the deadly virus, customers can visit a supermarket only every 48 hours and must stand three metres apart.
Photos from Italy showed shoppers sensibly keeping their distance - unlike the scrums since across the UK.
In the city of Lyon, in the north of France, journalist Rosie Wright said: "Shoppers are one metre apart, it's calm, no queues and plenty of food.
"Seems to be a different picture in the UK, who haven't got the restrictions."
Meanwhile Brit Rachel Hammond, who is Lanzarote in Spain, said: "I went out today to get some food and our shops are full.
"Why in England are people going psycho buying toilet rolls and panic buying food?
"Here in Lanzarote we are ON LOCKDOWN and no one is behaving like that? The local spar is fully stocked with food as it usually is. Get a grip."
In Germany, food stores have issued posters stating the maximum number of people who can enter the store and closing the door when the limit is reached.
And in Switzerland, a shopper filmed a fully-stocked store on the second day of the country's lockdown.
She tweeted: "Everyone seems to be keeping their cool and doing what they need to do to get through this thing."
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This morning moronic panic buyers prevented NHS workers getting into supermarkets.
Heroic NHS staff turned up at Tesco stores but were met with hundred strong queues, forcing some to leave empty handed.
Measures to allow the elderly and vulnerable time to shop before the rush have already been put in place and now NHS staff have also been given time.
This morning, more than 300 people stood in line outside Tesco stores in Pitsea, Essex and Beckton, east London.
Due to the volume of people, many NHS workers were forced to leave without doing their shopping as many had to start their shifts and did not have enough time.
Elsewhere, in Dudley, West Midlands, shocking videos showed shoppers brawling.
Last week, critical care nurse Dawn Bilbrough, 51, from York, reached out to the nation after she posted a video of herself crying in her car after not being able to get food for herself.
She had spent two days working at an intensive care ward and in a heartbreaking appeal she pleaded with people to stop stripping the shelves.
