Angry claims that some shop owners have been hiking prices to benefit from the COVID-19 crisis have led one retailer in Slough to call for government intervention to halt bulk buying.

Ashiq Abdeili is joint owner of Chalvey Supermarket in Chalvey Road West.

Appearing on the Ray C Show on Slough's Asian Star Radio this week he called on fellow guest Slough MP Tan Dhesi to press the Prime Minister to introduce compulsory controls on how much shop owners could sell to one single customer at a time.

He feels customers feel frustrated and anxious - but that shop owners sometimes get the blame for having to pass on price rises imposed on them by wholesalers.

He said: "If retailers were not allowed to sell products in bulk we would not be faced with price hikes, while unprecedented numbers of shoppers and elderly and vulnerable are not able to get their goods.

"We find ourselves in an unfortunate situation. We are at war with an invisible enemy and we need to introduce rationing."

Mother of three Lavinder Bains, 52, of Upton Court Road, Slough is angry about what is happening in some shops.

She saw red when a friend told her that Paracetamol usually on sale for £1.50 was being sold in the town for £9.99.

In one shop she visited herself she says a large bag of flour usually on sale for £10 was going for £20.

Mrs Bains, who works as a facilities manager, said: "I am really angry. People are being laid off, are losing their jobs and they cannot afford this."

She called on people to complain to the Competition and Markets Authority if they felt a shop was overcharging.

She said: "Price rises like this are actually illegal. It is simply taking advantage of people who are panic buying."