Whole meal made out of panic buyer who snapped up 17 loaves

Shops in Penistone were forced to ration bread last week after their shelves were stripped by worried householders who expected the Arctic conditions to cut off supplies to the isolated town.

Before the ruling was made, one resident was seen buying 17 loaves and six bags of salt, prompting the creation of a page on social networking website Facebook about the incident.

The site, which is called "Do you know who's bought 17 loaves of bread in Penistone... the search is on!" has already collected 750 members and includes a joke mug shot.

Cafe owner Lee Meller, 25, said panic buying was a tradition in bad weather in Penistone and added: "I heard people weren't even waiting until the bread was on the shelves at the Spar.

"They were grabbing it from the pallets outside and running up to the counter to pay for it. It's always like this in Penistone; anyone mentions snow and people immediately begin to panic buy."

There are two supermarkets in Penistone, a Spar and a Co-op, and according to the site the Co-op bore the brunt of the panic, with a spoof email address provided as [email protected].