Online supermarket Ocado has told customers to make their orders further in advance as households began stockpiling food and basic health products in the face of growing fears over the impending scale of coronavirus in Britain.

As the number of confirmed cases of the virus jumped by six in just 24 hours the online retailer said it had been experiencing “exceptionally high demand” with customers placing “particularly large orders”.

Lidl also said they had seen a spike in sales of durable products and disinfectants.

Following the outbreak there have been warnings that panic buying could become rife, with anxious shoppers stripping shelves of tinned food, bottled water and other basics.

Already Boots is restricting the purchases of hand sanitiser to two bottles per customer, while shoppers have reported buying large quantities of nappies, toilet roll, soup, tinned fruit, pet food and medicine in case they are forced into self-isolation by the virus.

Many chemists have already sold out of facemasks - despite warnings by health officials they are of limited use in everyday circumstances - and online scammers have begun exploiting fears by selling stocks at vastly inflated prices.

Lidl said its supermarkets were “experiencing a significant increase in demand for durable products or disinfectants.”

A spokeswoman added: “We are doing everything we can to ensure the food supply and we have increased deliveries to our branches.”

Tonight Ocado also warned customers to book further in advance after seeing demand sky rocket.

In an email the company told customers: “We want to let you know that we’re experiencing exceptionally high demand at the moment.

“More people than usual seem to be placing particularly large orders. As a result, delivery slots are selling out quicker than expected.”

The online supermarket said shoppers should place their orders two to three days further in advance than usual and if possible pick a weekday slot.

The online supermarket said shoppers should place their orders two to three days further in advance than usual and if possible pick a weekday slot.

Consumer experts predict the situation will only get worse if the numbers of Britons suffering from coronavirus begin to rise in line with the spread of the virus in parts of northern Italy, where several towns are in lock-down amid 655 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths.

They warn that the UK’s reliance on foreign food imports and last-minute supply chains could leave it vulnerable if the crisis deepens and panic buying takes hold.

Professor Tim Lang, an expert in food policy at City, University of London, said: “The food sector today runs on a ‘just-in-time’ logistics system. The whole idea is to not have storage. Britain is catastrophically dependent on external sources.”

Ratula Chakraborty, professor of business management at the University of East Anglia (UEA) , said: "The prospect of whole towns being in lockdown and shops closed is heightening the fear and stockpiling may become rife.

"Inevitably some anxious households will begin stocking piling food, medicines and other storable essentials.”

Some shoppers have already admitted on social media that fear of coronavirus was leading them to begin stockpiling.

One told Mumsnet said they were “filling the cupboard with soup, tomatoes, tinned fruit, flour, crackers”.

Another confessed she was considering building “a small stockpile or supplies because of corona”, adding: “I've never done so in my life. But reading about the Italian villages that have been put on lockdown and families can't leave their homes has got me thinking.”

Social media users have posted photographs of empty shelves, with one reporting a run on bread at a Waitrose in Bath, while another posted a photograph showing high demand for aspirin at a Tesco in London.

Emergency Food Storage UK, Europe’s largest emergency food supplier, says it has been inundated with orders for its emergency food supply kits since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. These range in price from upwards of £169 for a standard one month supply.

There have also been reports that some households have bought chest freezers to be sure of enough supplies, with others even planning to turn one room in their house into an 'isolation zone' equipped with cooking equipment, bedding and food in case they are required to self-isolate.

Chemists and supermarkets have seen shelves emptied of sanitiser wipes and gels as consumers heed official advice to regularly wash their hands to reduce the risk of the virus spreading further.

Branches of Boots have begun displaying signs reading: “Due to high demand we are only selling two hand sanitisers per person. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

Superdrug has also been hit by high demand. Muna Mohamed, a website writer and developer from London, posted on social media: “Tried to buy hand sanitiser today at Superdrug – the WHOLE section was out of stock. Tried another two stores, same thing! Apparently there’s a shortage of hand sanitisers all over. Scary!”

In a statement Boots said: “We are currently out of stock of surgical face masks in stores and online. We have also seen an increase in sales of hand sanitisers but we still have stock available in our warehouses for stores and online. There is currently a limit of two hand sanitisers per customer to ensure as many people as possible have access to them.”