AS HUNDREDS of shoppers were seen queuing outside supermarkets at 5am today, many chains have announced tight rationing plans to fight food shortages and special shopping slots for the elderly and vulnerable.

Supplies including toilet paper, cleaning products, pasta and tinned food are amongst the items being cleared out from shelves during the coronavirus outbreak.

It comes despite pleas from major retailers bosses for shoppers to act rationally and not panic-buy.

Sainsbury's: maximum of three of any grocery products and a maximum of two on the most popular items like toilet paper; priority access to online delivery slots to customers aged over 70 or those with a disability; closure of non-essential services like meat and fish deli

Tesco: three items per customer on all products; closing all meat, fish, deli and salad counters

ALSO READ: HUNDREDS of shoppers queue outside supermarkets before sunrise

Asda: three-items-per-shopper on all food, toiletries and cleaning products; closure of non-essential services like meat and fish deli

Lidl: four-items-per-shopper limit on a range of products including tinned foods, pasta and toilet paper.

Co-op: two-items-per-shopper limit on products like hand sanitiser, soap, tinned goods, pasta, rice, sugar, baby food and nappies

Aldi: four-items-per-shopper limit on all products since the weekend

Waitrose and Morrisons are two of the major supermarket chain that are yet to introduce any restrictions.

The online grocer Ocado has also shut down its website and app until Saturday.