The UK is facing a crab crisis caused by winter storms, as a number of restaurants have been left short of shellfish. Crab favourites such as linguine and crab cakes have had to be pulled off menus as stocks have plummeted unexpectedly.

Fishermen believe late February's Beast From The East may have killed large amounts of the young crustaceans in British waters, although an element of mystery remains as to why they have depleted in numbers.

The dip in numbers has been particularly bad in the South West, where many eateries have not received any stocks at all for weeks.

"We haven't had it on the menu for over two months," said Chris Pike, of The Pea Green Boat restaurant in Sidmouth, Devon.

"Everyday people come in and ask, 'where are the crab sandwiches?' "It's definitely affecting the menu in Sidmouth."

The restaurant sources its crab locally and during the summer would normally take a fresh delivery every day.

Crab fisherman Kim Aplin, from Beer, who supplies many local businesses, said he had never known it this bad.

He said bizarrely, 90 per cent of the crabs he was catching were male and just 10 per cent female - a worrying trend. He said: "