Yorkshire arcade fills grabber machine with toilet rolls amidst stockpiling trend

Bridlington's Chapmans Funland has filled mechanical grabber arcade games with toilet rolls after seeing the item fly off the shelves over the public's fears they may need to self-isolate.

Eddy Chapman, who runs the arcade, said he came up with the idea after watching the madness unfold on the news.

Mr Chapman told the Press Association: "I was just in the shop and I thought, 'People are panic buying it, it's piled up high here, let's see what we can do with it, have a bit of fun with it'.

"I put it in the crane, before I knew it the local press was here - it went viral."

A go on the grabber machine, which normally stocks soft toys as prizes, costs 30p.

"The feedback we've had is fantastic," Mr Chapman added.

"Everybody that comes to it is laughing, just fun. The atmosphere is brilliant.

"A lot of people have said 'I've seen it all now' but I don't think anybody really wants to win the toilet roll, they just want to have a go because of what it is."

Despite that, it is possible to win on the machine.

"People will say that it's not possible, it is possible," Mr Chapman said.

"I just think, it's got a hole in the middle - get one of the arms through the hole and you might just get lucky."

One man from Pontefract who did get lucky and bagged himself a toilet roll on the machine, said: "I'm chuffed to bits. It were worth driving 68 miles and spending £30 to win that."

With increasing numbers of people self-isolating because of the coronavirus outbreak, pictures on social media have shown supermarkets with empty shelves as shoppers stock up on essentials such as toilet paper, rice and pasta.