
Chicken destined for KFC is piled high at a DHL distribution depot after the delivery firm's new computer system 'failed' forcing the popular fast food chain to close almost two thirds of its 900 UK branches.

Up to 570 outlets across Britain were temporarily shut when delivery problems meant they ran out of chicken – sparking a furious reaction from customers.

So panicked were KFC fans they even resorted to calling police – prompting a stern warning from Scotland Yard officers – amid fears it could be up to a month before some restaurants re-open.

One Twitter user, 'Kara', wrote: 'Still can't believe KFC was shut because they ran out of chicken', while Emmie Twyford tweeted: 'Can't believe the two KFC's in my town are shut... at least we have a Chicken Cottage'.

KFC’s chicken shortage fiasco began last week shortly after the fast-food giant switched its delivery contract to German-owned DHL. It was triggered by an accident that shut the M6, causing traffic gridlock and reportedly leaving DHL lorries sat in traffic for hours, sparking a huge backlog of deliveries.

The chaos had a knock-on affect which centred on a DHL delivery hub in Rugby, with KFC saying it first became aware of a problem in the software around a new computer ordering and delivery system on Friday.

DHL blamed 'operational issues' for the supply disruption, which worsened over the weekend with KFC outlets in the North East, London, Kent, East Anglia, the Midlands and the south of England all reporting that they had run out of some chicken products.

More than 80 per cent of the fast-food eateries are run by franchisees, who are together losing hundreds of thousands of pounds. As of lunchtime today there were still 470 restaurants shut - down from 575 at 9pm last night.

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This was the scene in Rugby where a huge pile of chicken sat inside a DHL depot after supply problems meant it was unable to reach hundreds of KFC branches

KFC customers took to Twitter today to express their shock that their local branch had shut because of the supply problems, while others make fun of the 'crisis'

So panicked were some KFC fans that they even resorted to calling police – prompting a stern warning from Scotland Yard officers – amid fears it could be up to a month before some restaurants re-open

More than 500 of KFC's 900 UK stores were forced to close after running out of chicken (pictured the KFC in Tottenham Court Road)

The Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food chain blamed the temporary closures on several 'hiccups' with food deliveries

In a statement on the company's website KFC said it was 'working flat out' to get us 'back up and running again'

Crate upon crate of chicken in plastic wrapping was pictured at a DHL depot in Rugby yesterday, where it was still waiting to be loaded onto lorries.

Environmental officers from Rugby Council inspected the stash of chicken after they did not receive DHL's registration for a cold storage facility. But inspectors found everything was in order and did not see any chicken that needed to be thrown out.

KFC branches first started running out of food over the weekend.

Initially, KFC removed items from the menu and shortened their opening hours, but hundreds have now been forced to close.

Signs on many of the stores read: 'Sorry, we're closed. We deliver our chickens fresh into our restaurants, but we've had a few hiccups with the delivery today.

'We wouldn't want to be open without offering our full menu, but we'll be back at the fryers as soon as we can.'

The company explained the problems saying: 'We've brought a new delivery partner on board, but they've had a couple of teething problems - getting fresh chicken out to 900 restaurants across the country is pretty complex.

'We won't compromise on quality, so no deliveries has meant some of our restaurants are closed and others are operating a limited menu, or shortened hours.

'We know that this might have inconvenienced some of you over the last few days, and disappointed you when you wanted your fried chicken fix - we're really sorry about that.'

Hundreds of KFC stores were closed last night after a new delivery contract with DHL sparked chicken shortages across the country

A KFC spokesperson said: 'Our teams are working flat out all hours to get the rest back up and running as soon as possible - but it's too early to say how long it will take to clear the backlog.'

The firm has set up a 'web page' where 'fans' can find their nearest outlet that is still open.

Many angry diners took to Twitter to complain to the fried chicken company about the chicken shortage.

One Twitter user complained: 'Drove to two separate KFCs to find one had no chicken and one was closed. What even is my luck? Just want some fried chicken.'

Another asked in disbelief: 'As if KFC is closed coz they've run out of chicken?

While another tweeted: 'KFC in both Cheshire Oakes and Chester Greyhound Park are closed because...they're out of chicken.'

HOW HAS THE KFC CHICKEN CRISIS UNFOLDED? Wednesday February 14 - DHL takes over delivery duties for KFC from Bidvest Logistics to supply food products and packaging to KFC restaurants. A new computer software system developed to manage orders and deliveries fails, triggering a delivery chaos. There was also an accident that shut the M6 on Valentine's Day, that caused traffic chaos. Friday February 16 - Shortage started to bite at KFC outlets. Saturday/Sunday February 17/18 - Crisis worsens over the weekend. Monday February 19 - The system collapsed completely. Almost 700 stores are closed. Tuesday February 20 - 470 KFC stores remain shut, as on 1pm. Advertisement

Daniel Watts wrote: 'It's crazy to think in 50 years that we will be able to turn round to our grandchildren and say I remember the KFC chicken crisis of 2018', while another added: 'Do you know what I would eat? Chips done in the KFC batter. Kentucky fried chips.'

Another person shared a picture of their feast in a Camden restaurant and wrote: 'I survived the great British @KFC_UKI chicken shortage of 2018 #camden #KFCShortageSurvivor.'

Craig Sanders wrote: 'Chickens are on strike. Store has run out of chicken lol.'

A KFC employee, who asked not to be named, said: 'It's annoying and frustrating for us. It's nuts.

'It's damaging the brand. The amount of people trying the door and walking off is incredible.

'We are getting abuse off people who are surprisingly impatient about chicken. KFC changed delivery companies in August.

'A brand new purpose-built warehouse was built and it was all meant to go live on Wednesday.

'There was a crash on the M6 which put deliveries back and they had IT issues.

'Anybody who was due deliveries on Wednesday didn't get it, so they ran out on Thursday. Then the same happened to others on Thursday.'

Another KFC worker from Exeter said: 'A delivery didn't turn up Friday or Saturday. Our branch in Exeter is not open again today (on Monday) and we don't know if it will open tomorrow.

'Workers are not getting paid for it which we think is unfair as it's not our fault.

'We're not happy about it at all. We have been told to be on standby so we have to be around, so technically we should be getting paid.

'We are being told to put it through as holiday but that means using our holiday pay.

'I've heard staff at other KFC branches are also not getting paid. I have already lost over 30 hours of pay.'

The video captured by the customer shows two men in KFC uniforms carrying crates of black bags out of a Volvo and through the backdoors of a restaurant in Erith, south London

Danny Mercer, who filmed the clip, claims he was told to 'f*** off' by employees when they saw him capturing the delivery on camera

Footage uploaded online yesterday apparently showed KFC workers smuggling chicken they had obtained themselves into a store in Erith, Kent, through a fire door — in an attempt to keep it trading.

A customer recorded two men in KFC uniforms carrying crates of black bags out of a Volvo and through the backdoors of a restaurant in Erith, south London.

Danny Mercer, who filmed the clip, said he was told to 'f*** off' by employees when they saw him filming the delivery on camera.

Chuckle Brother Paul tucks into 'three-piece chicken and chips' after discovering an open KFC... but moans about them running out of COLESLAW Paul Chuckle visits a KFC in Leicester Hungry Britons across the UK have faced trouble getting their hands on fried chicken over the past few days. But one half of the Chuckle Brothers still managed got his Kentucky Fried Chicken fix yesterday at the Leicester Forest motorway services branch. Paul Chuckle, 73, whose real name is Paul Elliott, said he had three pieces of chicken and chips - but the restaurant 'must have run out of coleslaw because it wasn't in my bag'. The comedian, one half of the comic double act The Chuckle Brothers with his sibling Barry, later added: 'It's not the same without coleslaw.' KFC expects disruption to some restaurants to continue for the rest of the week after a new delivery contract with DHL sparked chicken shortages. Advertisement

Mr Mercer told Kent Live: 'I got KFC in Erith shut down because I caught them on video smuggling raw chicken into the back of the restaurant out of the back of a car in black bags and boxes and not refrigerated.

'Turns out there has been a delivery problem nationwide for all KFC restaurants.

'But I guess the manager of KFC in Erith took it into his own hands to get chicken.'

He added that the staff had brought in 'about six black bags from the boot' that were 'bulging and gloopy shaped' before he started filming, and said he will 'never eat at KFC again'.

Mr Mercer said customers were 'lining up for the drive thru' when the video was taken but it branch closed later in the afternoon.

KFC told MailOnline it was investigating the issue and was aware of the video.

A spokesman added: 'We've closed several of our restaurants because we won't compromise the quality of our food, and it also goes without saying that food safety remains our top priority.

'When it comes to the safe handling and transport of food, we have strict policies in place, so we're investigating this urgently and will take any necessary steps.'

As the company faced a deepening crisis and anger, it insisted salaried employees will be paid as normal, while others on short term contracts will be paid the average hours worked per day over the last 12 weeks.

However 80 per cent of KFC outlets are run on a franchise basis.

The firms said it is encouraging its franchisees to adopt the same policies but they have no legal requirement to do so as they have their own contracts of employment.

'Franchisees will be seeking their own independent advice, but we're encouraging them to adopt this policy too,' said the chain.

More than 24,000 workers are employed by KFC and its franchises in Britain.

KFC named DHL as the new delivery company last year and it took over the job at the beginning of this month.

At the time, the KFC supply chain director, Jens Hentschel, boasted: 'We want to deliver a new level of service to our restaurants and franchise partners.'

The new regime is built around computer software developed by the company QSL, which is meant to ensure swift and efficient of delivery of fresh chicken to KFC restaurants.

When the partnership with KFC was announced, DHL's John Boulter, said: 'We intend to re-write the rulebook and create a stock management, distribution and reverse logistics model based on best practice from a range of sectors including foodservice logistics.'

Yesterday, DHL said: 'Due to operational issues a number of deliveries in recent days have been incomplete or delayed.

'We are working with our partners to rectify the situation as a priority and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.'

Sources said KFC may seek up to £30million in compensation from DHL. Business experts said KFC should have phased in the new delivery system to minimise disruption.

Mick Rix, national officer for the GMB union, said it had 'tried to warn KFC' the decision to move from Bidvest to DHL 'would have consequences'.

He said: 'Bidvest are specialists — a food distribution firm with years of experience.

'KFC are left with hundreds of restaurants closed while DHL try and run the whole operation out of one distribution centre — where conditions are an utter shambles.'

'Is this a sign of the apocalypse?' Twitter users share their hilarious overreactions to KFC running out of chicken in two-thirds of UK stores

Most people would recognise that the arrival of the four horsemen of the apocalypse - Death, Famine, War, and Conquest - marks the beginning of the end of days.

But for some Twitter users, KFC running out of chicken in two-thirds of its stores across the nation is the clearest sign yet that the end of the world is coming.

After 700 out of 870 stores were closed today, chicken-hungry individuals already suffering from withdrawal symptoms took to Twitter to post hilarious memes.

Using the hashtag #KFCCrisis, users mocked the overreaction of Brits when they couldn't get their favourite fast food.

This Twitter user thought KFC running out of chicken was 'a sign of the apocalypse', and expected to see the Four Horseman any day now - and not the Four Horsemen of wrestling

Another individual tweeted a reaction gif with the caption: 'How can you be out of the one thing you are known for selling?!?'

This user tweeted a still from the comedy Chicken Run, a film about the exploits of a group of chickens as they attempt to escape from a farm, with the caption 'Frrrrreeeeedom!!!'

Others mocked the overreaction of Brits who couldn't get their favourite fast food for seemingly forgetting they could buy their own chicken and cook it themselves

McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald was accused of being the one who orchestrated the chicken disaster

One user posted a photo of Sam Allardyce from the 2016 Daily Telegraph investigation where he was filmed giving advice on getting around FA rules on player third party ownership, saying 'I can get you a boneless banquet for one, but it's gonna cost ya'

Another account from a user pretending to be Jesus Christ said they were trying to 'fix' America before they would fix the chicken crisis

Heart radio North East described the crisis as the 'great KFC drought of 2018' as they shared a gif saying: 'I just want fried chicken'

Capital FM in Birmingham had a similar overreaction, posting a gif of a David Cross sobbing uncontrollably in the show Arrested Development