SHOPPERS have been stripping the shelves of supermarkets in Brecon after the town was virtually cut off by the snow.

Lorry deliveries failed to arrive on Thursday and Friday because the A40 from Crickhowell and the A470 from Merthyr Tydfil have both been closed.

Staff in Morrisons bakery have been working round the clock to make sure there is some bread available, but the shelves which normally carry branded bread have been stripped bare. The newspaper stands are also empty, apart from copies of the Brecon & Radnor Express, because the normal WH Smith delivery of national papers did not get through.

Morrisons is the town’s biggest store but the situation is the same at other stores.In Aldi the bread shelves are also empty, there's no milk and stocks of other fresh produce such as fruit and veg are running low. They also have no daily national newspapers.A member of staff said they had had their first delivery on Saturday morning "for three days". She said the bread and milk had sold out within a couple of hours.The assistant added: "People were rushing to buy stuff, stockpiling it as if it's the end of the world!"In Brecon Co-op, there is very little fresh produce on the fruit and veg shelves and little bread. A sign in the refrigerator section apologises for their being no milk. It reads: "Due to the bad weather our lorries are finding it difficult to get through the snow and ice. As a result some of our products are not available to buy."

Meanwhile Wye Valley NHS Trust has extended its postponement of some non-urgent surgery and outpatient appointments at Hereford Hospital to Monday because of the conditions. The Trust had already postponed non-urgent operations and outpatient appointments on Friday for the same reason.

And Wales & West Utilities are asking people to be "responsible" when calling its emergency gas line because of the high volume of such calls it is receiving.

David Collins, Wales & West Utilities gas emergency service manager for North and Mid Wales, said: “So we can get to gas emergencies and help those most in need, it is essential that only people who smell gas, have a gas leak, low gas pressure or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide contact the gas emergency number 0800 111 999. They will not be able to help you with boiler issues.

“My engineers are working round the clock in very difficult weather conditions to respond to gas emergencies as safely and as quickly as possible, preventing injury and saving lives.

“Yesterday was a significant challenge for us. We received an emergency call once every 16 seconds and responded to more than 1000 gas emergencies. The majority of these were frozen condensate boiler pipe issues, which is something we cannot help customers with.

“If you have an issue such as this with your gas boiler or any other gas appliance please call a Gas Safe Registered (GSR) Engineer or your gas supplier. For a GSR Engineer in your area call 0800 408 5500 or visit gassaferegister.co.uk. You can find the contact details of your gas supplier on your bill. You can read more information on what to do if you have boiler problems here: http://wwutilities.co.uk/boilerproblems/

“Our priority is responding to gas emergencies to keep people safe and save lives, and we really appreciate the support of local people to only call the number if it’s an emergency as we work hard to get to those who are most in need.”