GLOBAL dairy company Arla has revealed lorry driver shortages has forced it to cut back on deliveries.

UK managing director Ash Amirahmadi said the firm, which supplies milk to all the major UK supermarkets, normally supplies 2,400 stores a day, but has been experiencing driver shortages since early April.

The firm has a packaging facility on Oswestry's Maes y Clawdd Industrial Estate.

"Last Saturday, there were 600 stores that we couldn't deliver milk to," Mr Amirahmadi told the BBC.

"It's very worrying for customers when they go into shops and find that the shelves are empty.

"Our assessment is that we're in a driver shortage crisis and therefore we're asking for the industry and government to work together to recognise we're in a crisis and actually address the issue."

Despite the increase in staff shortages due to the NHS's Trace and Trace 'pings', Mr Amirahmadi said the disruption was mainly down to changes to tax rules, a backlog of driving tests because of Covid-19, and a drop in the number of drivers from EU countries working in the UK.

He urged the government to speed up driving tests for new HGV drivers, and issue temporary visas exclusively for the road haulage industry so that more European drivers could be allowed into the country post-Brexit.

The Road Haulage Association believes there is currently a shortfall of about 100,000 lorry drivers.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps recently announced a temporary extension of lorry drivers' working hours, from nine to 10 hours a day.

But the RHA warned that the relaxation was a "sticking plaster".