THE owners of a convenience store in Newport which was criticised on social media for selling bread for £3 while other shops were sold out due to the snow have spoken out.

Londis in Bassaleg Road came in for criticism on Saturday following a number of Facebook posts in which customers claimed they had been charged £3 for loaves of bread usually costing less than half that.

Some claimed the shop's owners were taking advantage of people during the snowy conditions and many said they would boycott the store.

And, writing on Twitter, Gaer ward member on Newport City Council Cllr Stephen Marshall said he had been contacted by a number of constituents about the issue.

"This is a huge issue and using the weather conditions to abuse customers in terms of prices and trust of those buying the essentials," he said.

Many also claimed the managers had bought the bread from a supermarket and sold it at a significant mark-up.

But a spokesman from the shop's management, who asked not to be named, said their usual delivery had not shown up and, in an effort to be able to provide customers with vital supplies, they had gone to another supplier who had charged them more as they are not one of their usual customers.

"Customers were coming in and all they wanted was bread, bread, bread," he said.

"We tried out level best - we went out of our way and went to a number of different suppliers we don't normally use.

"They didn't charge us a regular price because we are not one of their regular customers.

"So we had to sell it for more than we normally would because we paid more than we normally would."

He added: "We don't want to upset our customers so we put it down to £2," he said. "Still people are not happy.

"If you're not happy with the price you don't have to pay it."

He added he felt a lot of the online criticism had been unfair.

"We are a business, not a charity," he said.

"We didn't do it to rip people off or con them.

"Some people were comparing us to the NHS, talking about all the good things they have been doing.

"But they're completely different things."

He added the shop usually charges £1.35 for a loaf of bread and confirmed the store's management do not run any other shops in Newport.

Social media posts had suggested they ran a number of other shops in the city, which they are not connected with.