A Powys supermarket is to open exclusively to older customers for two hours to allow them to stock up on household essentials amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Iceland in Newtown announced on Monday that it will allow the elderly exclusive access to the shop between 9am and 11am, on Wednesday, will let older customers shop on their own for two hours to buy food and household essentials amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The frozen food supermarket on Newtown's High Street announced on Monday that it would allow the elderly to shop in store from 9am to 11am on Wednesday, March 18.

Claire Bellamy, store manager, said: "We will be open 9 to 11am on Wednesday purely for the elderly in our community to shop whilst its quieter for essentials.

"Please respect this and allow our most vulnerable to shop first."

Iceland also added that from Tuesday, March 17, it will be open from 9.30am to 5.30pm "for the foreseeable future" – shorter than its usual opening hours of 8am until 7pm. However, Sunday's opening time – 10am to 4pm – remain unchanged.

Ms Bellamy said: "I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our loyal customers for being understanding over the past few days as we try and keep products available as best we can.

"The adjustment in opening hours is to aid us in looking after ourselves, our families, the store and most importantly you, the customer. Thanks for your ongoing support."

The move comes as supermarkets continue to try and stop customers stockpiling.

Several supermarkets have limited the sales of certain products to avoid them selling out completely.