Frenzy began at 3am on Monday when vegetable toys went on sale online

After £19.99 soft toy sold out they appeared on eBay for as much as £100 each

Today millions of Kevins went on sale at Aldi supermarkets nationwide

Chaos unfolded at Aldi supermarkets across the country as millions of its Kevin the Carrot toys hit the shelves after selling out online.

The frenzy began early on Monday when the vegetable toy went on sale on the Aldi website at 3am - but sold out within hours.

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Today supermarket bosses decided to ship two million of the £19.99 cuddly toys to stores nationwide ready to go on sale when they opened at 8am.

Thousands were queuing from 6.30am, with some reporting physical fights and others bemoaning the product had already sold out before they could get their hands on one.

Those who missed out turned to eBay where the toys were being re-sold for hugely inflated prices.

A full set including giant Kevin, Katie and their children, Russell Sprout and Tiny Tom was being listed for £475 - more than six times it would cost to buy directly from the store.

Following such high demand Aldi decided to ship two million Kevin the Carrots to stores nationwide

Shoppers are pictured desperately dashing around Aldi with their trolleys to bag Kevin the Carrot before the toy sells out

People took to social media to air there frustration about not getting a Kevin the Carrot toy, while others chuckled at the carnage

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Danyoungman on Twitter posted: 'This is not a drill, there are people in Aldi's fighting over Kevin the carrot toys!'

Another Twitter user called Michelle said: 'Well that was an experience, adults pushing and shoving for plush toys. I got a sprout and tomato though, after queuing since 6.30am.'

Others said they had planned their operation to get the toys 'for months' as huge queues formed in stores all over the country.

Meanwhile, unsuspecting shoppers were shocked at the way the craze took over attempts to shop at the store. Rachel Louise Jones found the queues equally long online.

She said: 'Just went looking for something on the Aldi website and did not realise it was Kevin the Carrot release day and I'm in a queue of 20,000 people to access the site. What. The. Actual. Hell.'

Dave Townend was queuing from 6.30am. He said: 'Yeah, I was outside from 6.30 this morning, my missus really wanted one so I thought I'd come down and wait outside to make sure I got one.'

He was joined in the queue shortly after at 7.10am by his friend, Luke Hallam, who also bought one of the large Kevins.

Luke said: 'I didn't get one last year because I came down to the store too late. I really wanted one so I came down to meet Dave before they opened to make sure.'

Emerging with some of the rare sprout and tomato toys were Graham and Sandra Ellis, who were joined by former mayor of North East Lincolnshire Hazel Chase and had been waiting since 7.15am.

Graham said: 'What else would you want to do on a cold and wet Thursday morning? We got them for the grandkids, as they have been collecting them each year since they came out.'

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Terri Spencer, of Cleethorpes, was happily holding a large Katie the Carrot toy as she left the store after joining the queue at 7.40am.

She said: 'I don't think the queue was as big as last year, we tried to get Katie online but they had all sold out before we got a chance to buy her.

'We have all the other ones from this year's set, we've made a tradition of buying them every year now, as we have got the full sets from the past two years as well.'

Louise Allen and her son, Max Brown, 5, got plenty of the toys for the whole family, with Max very happy at managing to get a full set of toys after waiting from 7.30am.

Louise said: 'We ended up getting three full sets this year, we struggled to get two of the toys last year so we made sure we got enough for the family. This year we ended up getting the pyjamas and everything.'

Reece Cox and his brother, Adam Cox, from Grimsby, missed out on the toys they were initially looking for but still managed to get a large Kevin and Katie.

Reece said: 'We got here just as they opened, we were wanting to get the sprout but they were all gone within minutes, but we're still glad we managed to get Kevin and Katie.'

Shoppers are pictured queuing up before Aldi opened at 8am today in a bid to get a Kevin the Carrot toy

More organised shoppers queued waiting for this Aldi supermarket to open so they could get a Kevin the Carrot toy this morning

Shoppers at the St John's Centre in Liverpool are seen queuing up before Aldi opened this morning

An Aldi store in Telford is pictured full of Kevin the Carrot toys along with his other vegetable friends

After Kevin sold out online on Monday, the sought-after cuddly toy later appeared on eBay for as much as £100 - five times the original £19.99 price - with shoppers so keen to get their hands on one.

An Aldi spokesman described this morning's demand as 'unprecedented', adding: 'Aldi has received reports of queues and products are expected to sell out within hours in certain stores, leading to some customers being unable to get their hands on a Kevin toy.'

Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, said: 'We opened the doors at 8am this morning and were met with an unprecedented number of customers looking to get their hands on Kevin the Carrot toys and his other friends, including Russell Sprout.

'We know our Kevin soft toys and merchandise are incredibly popular with customers and this year we increased the amount on offer.

Kevin the Carrot is pictured with his wife Katie the Carrot, their children and Russell Sprout

'To give as many Kevin fans as possible the chance to buy the range, we have limited purchases to two soft toys per customer, but as with all of our Specialbuys products, once they're gone, they're gone.'

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So-called 'carrot fever' first swept the nation in 2016 when the supermarket's seasonal toy Kevin made his TV debut in a Christmas advert - and his popularity has grown ever since.

This year's TV campaign even features pop star Robbie Williams.

At the weekend, disappointed parents vented their frustration online after queuing for hours and missing out on toys in the pre-sale.

Aldi had limited the number of toys each shopper could purchase in one go to just two but many still appeared on eBay for inflated prices.

A full set including giant Kevin, Katie and their children, Russell Sprout and Tiny Tom was being listed for £475, more than six times it would cost to buy directly from the store.

One happy shopper in Ireland boasted on Twitter that she had bagged herself a toy in time

This Twitter user had to make sure she was outside Aldi 40 minutes before it opened to get hold of Kevin and Katie the Carrot and their vegetable friends