

CANNABIS smokers lined up in their dozens to stockpile weed supplies, as the Netherlands imposed tight restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Customers queued up outside Dutch "coffee shops" on Sunday after the Government ordered their closure to beat the outbreak of the deadly disease.

5 People were pictured queuing outside a cannabis coffee shop in Hague, after the Dutch government ordered the closing of all schools, bars, restaurants, sex clubs and cannabis cafes in a bid to fight the spread of coronavirus Credit: AP:Associated Press

5 Cannabis smokers lined up in their dozens as they tried to beat a deadline for the closure of the marijuana cafes Credit: AFP or licensors

The Netherlands' famed coffee shops have become as much a part of the country's popular image abroad as sex clubs in Amsterdam's famed red light district, which were also ordered to shut by 6pm along with all bars and restaurants.

Customers lined up in their dozens as they tried to beat a deadline for the closure of the marijuana cafes and stockpile weed supplies for what could be weeks of lockdown.

Queues quickly formed outside coffee shops in the Dutch capital and elsewhere as customers — some facing three weeks of no school or work — decided to buy some pot while they still could.