ONE in six residents of Yorkshire and the Humber have been unable to buy essential food items, new research has revealed.

Fourteen per cent of people in Yorkshire and the Humber could not buy essential food items and one in five were also unable to purchase non-essential food. Another fifth of those surveyed found that when they went shopping, items they needed were not available and they could not find a replacement, and nearly 50 per cent of people reported less variety in the shops than usual.

The research, conducted by delivery management experts Urbantz, used data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on goods shortages between September 22 and October 3 to discover the percentage of people in Yorkshire and the Humber who were unable to access food in that timeframe.

The study also found that one in ten Yorkshire and the Humber residents bought less food than usual because of shortages - a 50 per cent jump from the previous fortnight, when it came to the number of people buying less food.

On a UK-wide level, one in six people struggled to buy essential food items in the last fortnight, and nearly a quarter of people couldn’t access other, non-essential items. The North East and the East Midlands were worst off when it came to food shortages, with 21 percent of residents unable to afford essential food.